Manildrada Group in Notice after dangerous incidents that include silo collapse

The security authorities in the workplace have taken into account the Manildra Group after the agribusiness of the South Coast responsible for a recent spill of greater informed grain of a “worrying” number of incidents and dangerous injuries.

Information provided by Safework NSW, obtained by the ABC under freedom of information, detailed 55 dangerous incidents from 2020 to 2024 and 31 serious injuries in the same period.

The Minister of Health and Safety at the workplace, Sophie Cotsis, said that she and Safework NSW Trent Curtin were aware of the safety problems on the way at the production plant.

“Mr. Curtin has met with the company and I understand that the inspectors are out,” Cotsis said.

“We will launch the book to anyone who does the wrong. No company is above the law.”

Woman stars in the camera — Sophie Cotsis says she is worried about the number of incidents. (ABC ILLAWARRA: ROMY GILBERT)

By law, a company must inform a “notifiable incident” that includes death, serious injuries or dangerous incidents to Safework NSW.

Several incidents listed in the documents provided by Safework NSW had dates and written details.

Safework NSW said that the monitoring of the company’s operations had increased, including a “strategy to ensure sustained improvement in compliance, performance and culture of health and health health in the Manildra Group.”

An aerial shot of a large industrial installation near a river. — The Shoalhaven Starches plant is placed between the Shoalhaven River and Bolong Road. (Supplied: Grupo Manildra)

Three incidents are being investigated at the Shoalhaven Lady Site in Manildra in Bomaderry, including the collapse of wheat silos 30 meters high and the surrounding steel infrastructure that causes the spill of hundreds of tons of grain in the Shoalhaven River.

From 2022 to 2024, 43 dangerous incidents and 25 serious injuries occurred in the plant.

In May 2024, a one -week fire burned inside a single grain.

It resulted in the evacuation of dozens of workers and an exclusion zone that was established, forced companies close to close and traffic that will be diverted.

Shoalhaven starches is a large wheat starch and a gluten plant that exports flours, syrups, food and sugars to more than 26 countries.

The installation also operates an ethanol distillery with the ability to export up to 1 million liters of ethanol produced locally per hour of its new storage installation of $ 60 million in the nearby Port Kembla.

industrial building — Shoalhaven starches is a great wheat starch, gluten and ethanol plant. (ABC ILLAWARRA: ROMY GILBERT)

Safework NSW under scrutiny

The union organizer of Electricity Stewart Edward helped establish a security committee for installation last year after multiple explosions occurred within a gluten dryer between 2023 and 2024.

Man smiling with the camera — Stewart Edward says it is a “miracle” that nobody has died at the site of Bomaderry. (Supplied: Stewart Edward)

He said the figures were “beyond alarming” and that the security regulator was not doing their job.

“It’s just a matter of time until we see a fatality,” Edward said.

“Employers seem to continue this type of behavior because there is no significant application.

“We need to send a message to the regulator and all governments that this is unacceptable in any industry.”

The Manildedra Group received 24 improvement notices for the Security Control Agency in 2024, with more than 80 of the same notices issued by the regulator since 2020.

Mrs. Cotsis said her government was in the revision and implementation process of recommendations made during a 2023 investigation into Safework NSW.

“To ensure that Safework is strengthened, but to ensure that where we have repeat offenders, they are not only issued continuous notices, we must ensure that they are followed,” he said.

Two make grain silos collapsed with poured grain on the Shoalhaven River — The wheat is poured into the Shoalhaven River after two silos collapsed. (ABC ILLAWARRA: ROMY GILBERT)

The deputy of Kiama, Gareth Ward, whose home wears the Bomaderry site, described how he thought someone was throwing a brick out his window during one of the explosions last year.

“It seems that Safework is a black box when it comes to information,” he said.

“I think the regulator must be more initial not only about what has been happening in the sites of our community, but also what they are doing to ensure that the law is applied.”

Community fears

The resident of Bomaderry, Kylie Knight, who lives a kilometer from the site, said the community had lost the company’s ability to avoid future disasters.

“I think everyone in the back of his mind is going: ‘What will happen later?'” Said Knight.

She said she wanted Manildrad Group to organize annual meetings with the Bomaderry community to discuss growth and the next developments and inform the community about current security measures.

“If there were a little more dialogue between the community and what is happening in Manildra … that would do a lot to restore some missing trust,” he said.

Manildrada Group is preparing its application for the installation of six wheat silos, a truck and trains discharge installation, grain transporter porch, container storage area, weighing, maintenance workshop and electricity substation workshop.

The company declined to comment on the figures and security concerns on the site.