Peacock Group opens Dandenong South site for Melbourne base

Peacock Group is opening a new 8,000-square-metre facility in Dandenong South, bringing Peacock Bros. and insignia together under one roof and expanding its Victorian warehouse and production footprint.

The move will create a shared Melbourne base for about 150 employees currently split between Knoxfield and Oakleigh. It will increase the group's combined warehouse and production footprint by about 66% and production space by about 56%.

The Dandenong South site is part of a broader expansion of the group's Victorian operations. Peacock Bros. and insignia will remain separate established businesses within Peacock Group, but their teams will work from the same location.

Ryan McGrath, Chief Executive Officer of Peacock Group, said the company had taken time to find a site that matched its operational needs and long-term plans. "Bringing our Oakleigh and Knoxfield teams together is a significant step forward for Peacock Group and for how we work together as one team. We've taken the time to find a site that works for our people and our current operations, while giving us the space and flexibility to support where we want to take the business in the future," he said.

The building will also house a customer demonstration space called the Peacock Group Solutions Centre, which will showcase products and services from across the group's operating businesses in one location.

That includes offerings from Peacock Bros., insignia and AMR Hewitts PrintPackaging. Although AMR Hewitts will remain at its Tullamarine base, its packaging offer will be represented at the new centre.

McGrath said the shared facility would bring together the strengths of the two Melbourne operations. "Peacock Bros. and insignia have established teams and expertise, and the new facility gives us an opportunity to bring those strengths closer together in a way we haven't been able to before. It will create a larger, more modern environment for our teams, with better facilities and more space for our growing operations," he said.

Customer focus

The Solutions Centre is intended to give customers and prospective buyers a place to see different technologies working together. Peacock Group's offer spans industrial coding and marking, printing and labelling, mobile computing, identification and tracking, colour labels, packaging and software.

Customer demand has increasingly centred on integrated systems rather than individual products. The centre will target businesses in manufacturing, warehousing, transport and logistics, retail, food and beverage, pharmaceutical, beauty and healthcare.

It will also provide space for Peacock Group to work with technology partners, supporting collaboration on systems involving mobile computing, barcode scanning, printing and labelling, coding and marking, RFID, software and data capture.

McGrath said customer discussions had changed in scope. "Customer conversations have increasingly shifted from individual products towards complete solutions," he said. "They want to understand how technologies such as mobile computing, barcode scanning, printing and labelling, coding and marking, RFID, software and data capture can work together across their operations. The Solutions Centre will give us a practical way to demonstrate that end-to-end capability and help customers explore the right combination of solutions for their business."

Group operations

Peacock Group describes itself as a fifth-generation, privately owned Australian business with more than 200 years of combined experience across its operating companies. Alongside Peacock Bros. and insignia, the group includes AMR Hewitts.

Peacock Bros., founded in 1888, has shifted from a traditional printing business to supply chain and product identification. Across the group, its activities cover technology, identification, labelling, packaging, automation and software for customers in Australia and New Zealand.

The relocation to Dandenong South will happen in stages, with employees from Knoxfield moving first and the Peacock Bros. Oakleigh team following later. Around 150 staff are expected to work from the site once the transfer is complete.

The new facility gives Peacock Group a single Melbourne location for two of its main businesses, while AMR Hewitts remains in Tullamarine and the group's physical space in Victoria expands by roughly two-thirds.