By BRAD PERRY

NATIONAL Foods’ Riverland site received an excellence award for its financial performance at the company’s 2009 Plant of the Year Awards in Melbourne last week.

The award is given to manufacturing sites that have exceeded their own individual targets and significantly improved on the previous year’s performance.

National Foods corporate affairs manager Elise Sullivan said despite the Riverland site ceasing production in June, employees are still expected to work towards company goals and the reward is proof of their dedication to the task.

“As you are aware, the site is still operating at the moment, therefore they (employees) are still required to obviously hit their targets,” she said.

Ms Sullivan said the award will not effect the juice giant’s decision to close the plant.

“The decision was made to close the site following a review that identified the site was not viable in the long-term due to the excess manufacturing capability we have on the Eastern seaboard, where the majority of the market is located and the declining fruit volume in the Riverland area,” she said.

While a majority of the workers who helped earn the award will no longer be working for National Foods after June, Ms Sullivan said “our people” are still the company’s main concern.

“In relation to our people, I think the fact that we have great people working for our company across the various different manufacturing sites is fantastic for us,” she said.

“Where we can, we are looking for re-employment opportunities for our people (at the Riverland site).

“Our people remain our main concern.”

The company was unable to provide specific details of how the award for the Riverland site was adjudicated, or how a factory that has been declared unviable can win an award for financial management.