The 2,000 square metre facility represents an investment of AU$6.5m and enables the company to meet increased demand for its services, as well as to grow its capacity in Australia.
With a footprint 30% greater than the existing location it replaces, the facility include six chill rooms, a deep freeze, storeroom and an area for ‘plating up’ meals, with the kitchen itself built over two levels to maximise space.
Currently, dnata prepares more than 60,000 inflight meals in Canberra each month, serving commercial airlines to charter airlines. The new facility will allow dnata to further diversify its customer portfolio by expanding its offering into new markets.
Since entering the Australian inflight catering market with the acquisition of Alpha Flight Group in 2010, dnata has gradually expanded its operations in the country, with a mixture of acquisitions and organic growth. Commenting on this growth, Hiranjan Aloysius, CEO of dnata catering Australia, said: “Following the successful completion of our acquisition of Qantas’ catering business, we are thrilled to celebrate another significant milestone in Australia. This facility enhances our ability to delight our customers and their customers, accelerates our growth and expands our market offering. It also supports our growth in non-airline markets – from retail supply to large scale food supply opportunities.”
Today, dnata offers catering services from 15 facilities in Australia, serving 45 airlines at nine airports with a team of over 3,000 customer-oriented employees.
