collaboration and cooperative capital

1600 1066 In Good Company | Northern Rivers
ncmc logo

Northern Co-operative Meat Company
10615 Summerland Way, Casino NSW 2470

www.ncmc-co.com.au

Visit Richmond Valley Northern Rivers-01
collaboration and cooperative capital

It comes as little surprise that one of the largest employers on the Northern Rivers is a co-operative, and with Casino being the beef capital of Australia, the industry makes sense too.

Northern Co-operative Meat Company (NCMC) is Australia’s largest meat processing co-operative and has been running since 1933. It’s 100% owned by its 1000 members – made up of graziers, pork producers and operators – and it employs 900 people across three sites in Casino and Booyong.

NCMC CEO Simon Stahl says the Northern Rivers has a long culture of people working together in business.

“It’s an essence of the region – it is actually the co-operative capital of Australia, with the heaviest concentration of co-operatives than anywhere else in the country,”

When the business was founded more than 85 years ago, most of the produce went to Sydney wholesale markets. These days more than 70% is exported to markets across Europe, the Middle East, Japan, Korea, China, Indonesia and the US.

As well as processing and distributing meat, there is also a hide tanning business in Casino (Casino Hide Tanners) that produces first class wet blue leather for export to China, India and Italy. While NCMC Foods is the marketing engine that supplies top shelf meats into restaurants, supermarkets and distributes world-wide.

Simon says Northern Rivers is the natural home for this business. “It’s perfectly positioned – we draw livestock from the best farming regions and we’re just down the road from the Port of Brisbane – a major export hub.”

The success of the Northern Rivers region as a whole has helped NCMC thrive over the decades, Simon says.

“This south-east corner is a huge growth market – particularly with tourism – and while that’s not necessary for our business, we can be successful on the back of it because it brings a greater range of services and it also brings a workforce.”

Despite the global reach of NCMC’s sales, there’s a strong local focus when it comes to running the business.

“We have a ‘buy local’ focus – it’s part of our collaborative DNA to buy local where we have the skills and services on the Northern Rivers.”

Northern Co-operative Meat Company (NCMC)

Share this story

Read more stories

Flexing the entrepreneurial muscle

 2560 1707 In Good Company | Northern Rivers

Summit Sport & Fitness
Like many Northern Rivers businesses, Summit Sport & Fitness has undergone immense change in 2022 – except, rather than being buffeted by floods or pandemic, these changes are positive, and mark a new chapter for owner Matthew George.

old-fashioned approach reaps rewards

 1000 667 In Good Company | Northern Rivers

Kyogle Country Store
It feels like a brave decision, buying a hardware and rural supplies store in the age of the corporate superstores. Though it was a challenge…

Casino RSM Club

 1360 906 In Good Company | Northern Rivers

Casino RSM Club
The 23 of March 2020 was the hardest day of Neale Genge’s career.

an epic adventure into healing honey

 1191 893 In Good Company | Northern Rivers

Gather By
Gather By is a closed-loop regenerative agribusiness that works with beekeepers and landholders in NSW and Queensland, and investors around Australia to produce and market rare, pure and potent Australian Manuka honey…

Delivering top service, come hospital or high water

 870 652 In Good Company | Northern Rivers

McLeans Freight Service
When Leisa Blok’s father, Laurie McLean, began running urgent nighttime blood deliveries from Lismore airport in 1992, he mightn’t have expected the one-man gig to expand into a 50-vehicle courier fleet, delivering across the entire northern NSW region.

spar maclean clarence valley

making history, creating culture

 1535 1025 In Good Company | Northern Rivers

Spar Maclean
SPAR Maclean’s claim to fame is a doozy. Indeed, it’s something only one supermarket in the whole of Australia can say: that it is the longest…

growing community, growing business

 1600 1066 In Good Company | Northern Rivers

The Farm
It’s a typical Saturday morning at The Farm, on the outskirts of Byron Bay. Families line up for freshly made pastry and coffee. Every table in the…

Keeping it real in the Tweed

 1706 2560 In Good Company | Northern Rivers

Tweed Real Food
Tweed Real Food is a business launched in 2018 from a desire to be resilient. Little did founder Julia Foyster know how prescient her plan would turn out to be.

crowd pleasing innovation creates a buzz

 1210 864 In Good Company | Northern Rivers

BeeInventive
It’s difficult to know where to start with the remarkable story of BeeInventive. Perhaps in the humble shed in Byron Shire bushland…

Feeding Pets with a Passion for Purpose

 1947 2560 In Good Company | Northern Rivers

Frontier Pets
Diana Scott was more than a bit annoyed at being unable to find a premium quality food for her dogs that was also ethically produced, so she did what all great entrepreneurs do – she created it.

Heart and Soul of a region

 1500 2250 In Good Company | Northern Rivers

Norco Co-operative
Norco has an impressive origin story.

oatten and hoffman kyogle 002

revving up the community engine

 1000 667 In Good Company | Northern Rivers

Oaten and Hoffman
In 2015 Tim Hoffman was riding the high on business success, and had no clue about the blow that was awaiting him….

A hive of success and support

 940 627 In Good Company | Northern Rivers

Wild Honey Creative
Wild Honey Creative is living proof that special skills and services we might once have associated with our cities – such as graphic and digital design, innovation in marketing and brand storytelling – are thriving in regional areas.

tripadeal_byron_bay

fastest growing, remains humble and local

 1000 667 In Good Company | Northern Rivers

TripADeal
For TripADeal, the figures speak for themselves: revenue in excess of $100million for 2017; 75,000 travellers sent to various…

Community connection runs deep

 1644 848 In Good Company | Northern Rivers

Connect Business Solutions
Connect Business Solutions can be thought of as the glue that holds a business community together.

Adapting is second nature for first in class

 2560 1709 In Good Company | Northern Rivers

Lazuli and Co.
The hairdresser and business owner, after all, has had a lot to adapt to – her salon is in central Lismore and was destroyed by the February 2022 floods, which also completely engulfed her nearby home. Before that were the ravages wrought by the pandemic.

yaru water tweed

building bridges with water

 1600 1067 In Good Company | Northern Rivers

Yaru Water
“This unique partnership between an Indigenous family and a non-Indigenous family enabled Yaru Water to start changing the way the procurement…

The Natural Rice Co.

 940 627 In Good Company | Northern Rivers

The Natural Rice Co.
The Natural Rice Co. (NRC) is a unique enterprise not just in the Northern Rivers, but in a national context too.

Passion, patience and protein

 2400 1350 In Good Company | Northern Rivers

Hemp Foods Australia
When Hemp Foods Australia founder, Paul Benhaim, discovered hemp as a food choice in the early 90s during his global travels, he had his own preconceived ideas.

A planet of business diversity

 2016 1512 In Good Company | Northern Rivers

Tropical Fruit World
It’s been almost 50 years since Robert and Valorie Brinsmead bought the 200-acre farm in Murwillumbah.

Start Typing

X