How it started
Founding and early growth (1850s–1996)
The origins of Bega Cheese go back to the 1850s when dairying began in the Bega Valley. In 1899 local farmers established the Bega Co-operative Creamery Company. The following year the original Bega Cheese factory was opened. The business remained regional for much of the 20th century, but by 1960 Bega had begun to expand operations, commissioning a milk processing and packaging facility in Fyshwick, ACT to serve broader markets.
Expansion, diversification and public listing (1997–2016)
The late 1990s marked a turning point for Bega Cheese. In 1997, the company constructed a modern cheese processing and packaging facility on Ridge Street in Bega and entered into a joint venture with Dairy Farmers (then known as Australian Co-operative Foods). This venture, (now known as Capitol Chilled Foods), focused on processing and distributing chilled products in the ACT and Southern NSW.
Bega's expansion accelerated in the 2000s. In 2007, it acquired a 70% stake in Tatura Milk Industries, completing full ownership by 2011. Along the way, the company acquired several key assets: De Cicco Industries in the Melbourne suburb of Coburg (2008), Kraft Foods' cheese manufacturing facility in Strathmerton, Victoria (2009), and a new nutritional canning and blending plant in Derrimut, Victoria (2014).
The company was publicly listed on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) in August 2011.
From Wikipedia’s article on Bega Group, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.2