Australian company Bosisto’s has opened a new distillery in country Victoria, expanding its local production of eucalyptus oil.

The $10 million purpose-built facility near Wedderburn, north-west of Bendigo, triples the amount of oil the company can produce.

Eucalyptus oil is extracted from the leaves of blue mallee trees native to the area, using steam.

Bosisto’s executive director, Tegan Abbott, said the new distillery is modern and efficient.

“We did previously have a distillery here, but [it was] pretty old and a little bit ancient,” Ms Abbott said.

“We wanted to really set things up for new modern manufacturing capabilities, increase efficiencies, increase productivity, and also improve safety.”

Eucalyptus oil has been used for its medicinal properties for thousands of years.

Pharmacist Joseph Bosisto pioneered the eucalyptus oil trade, establishing a commercial plantation and distillery in Victoria in 1852.

While Australia once supplied all of the world’s eucalyptus oil, the local industry has declined in recent decades.

Bosisto’s is now trying to reverse that.

“Back in about 2011, we made a real investment to produce more eucalyptus oil, which required more eucalyptus trees.

“We embarked on quite a big project with Melbourne University to create high-yielding blue mallee trees, a bit like a super tree that could produce more oil.”

Five million trees were planted in central Victoria as part of that project.

“That’s a lot of what we call leaf biomass that we want to distil … so we’ve built a new, a purpose-built facility for eucalyptus oil distillation,” she said.

Ms Abbott said the new distillery will not only boost production by 300 per cent but also has sustainable features.

“We extract the oil from the leaf via steam distillation, and then that leaf biomass is actually used as fuel later on once it’s dried out to stoke the boiler and create steam,” she said.

“It’s got off-grid capacity, so we’ve installed about 2,000 solar panels up here in order to power up the distillery, and then we’re reusing a lot of water.”

The trees also re-grow after they are harvested.

“We cut a couple of centimetres from the ground … so we almost give them a haircut effectively,” Ms Abbott said.

“We don’t use pesticides or fertilisers. It’s just rain, sun and the soil, and they continue to grow back up again.”

Local manufacturing

The new distillery project was supported by the Victorian government through its Manufacturing Growth Program.

“Bosisto’s is a long-running success story for regional Victoria,” the Regional Development Minister Michaela Settle said.

“I’m thrilled that we’ve been able to support the next chapter, which will see a boost to regional production.”

The Loddon Shire Council mayor, Dan Straub, said the investment was a vote of confidence in the region.

“Bosisto’s have been a part of our strong local community for many decades,” he said.

“[The facility] brings advanced manufacturing technology, new jobs and indirect economic activity for local businesses and suppliers.”

At least seven new ongoing jobs have been created through the project, including five on-site.

Family legacy

The Bosisto’s company has been owned by the Abbott family for 50 years.

Ms Abbott said her father, Peter Abbott, dreamt of seeing the Australian eucalyptus oil industry prosper before his death in 2022, aged 92.

“He was just really passionate about bringing it into the 21st century and modernising it,” she said.

“When he first got involved, there were still horses and carts cutting trees.

“It feels like an accumulation of a lot of hard work, not just from him, but from our whole team.”

The family plans to plant more trees and expand the business.

“That really is the plan … we’d love to see it continuing to grow,” Ms Abbott said.