Watch/Read: Visy is one of Australasia’s largest packaging, paper, and recycling companies — employing over 5,500 people across 120 sites, and another 5,800 globally through trading operations. Established in 1948, it’s a business built on innovation, and sustainability.
At the heart of its Victorian operations sits the Coolaroo Paper Mill—producing over 230,000 tonnes of containerboard each year. But with scale comes a challenge: how to manage more than 80,000 tonnes of waste product sustainably, without relying on landfill.
Challenge
Visy had a bold vision — to turn waste into energy. A $50 million co-generation power plant was proposed to harness waste from the paper recycling process and convert it into usable heat and electricity on site. But the question remained: how could this be funded without drawing heavily on capital reserves?
Solution
Enter Northquest Capital. Already a trusted partner within the Visy Group, Northquest Capital was engaged to design a funding model that aligned with Visy’s long-term clean energy strategy—without impacting their capital budget.
After in-depth analysis, Northquest delivered a 5-year structured capital solution—allowing Visy to fund the co-generation plant entirely through operating expenditure. No major upfront investment. Just clean energy, on budget.
Outcome
The result? A cutting-edge facility generating 27 megawatts of thermal energy and 3 megawatts of electricity—used to power the Coolaroo mill itself. It’s reduced Visy’s reliance on grid energy, cut emissions, and diverted thousands of tonnes of waste from landfill.
