Thomas Foods International Pty Ltd
Brands: Thomas Farms, Angus Pure, Holco
Record as at 2 June 2026
Background: Thomas Foods International Pty Ltd is one of Australia's largest meat companies, founded in 1988 as T&R Pastoral by Chris Thomas and Bob Rowe and based at Rose Park, South Australia. The Thomas family took full ownership in 2008 and renamed the company in 2013. It sits under the holding entity Thomas Foods International Consolidated Pty Limited and is led by Darren Thomas.
Animals: TFI slaughters cattle, sheep, lambs, mutton and goats at five Australian slaughterhouses, killing around 5,000 cattle and 120,000 sheep and lambs per week. It kills fish and other marine animals through its seafood division, Thomas Cappo Seafood, and runs the Southern Cross cattle feedlot at Tintinara, South Australia, licensed for 30,000 animals.
Operations: Slaughterhouses operate at Murray Bridge and Lobethal in South Australia, Bourke and Tamworth in New South Wales, and Stawell in Victoria (Frew Foods). TFI exports to more than 85 countries. Brands include Thomas Farms and Angus Pure.
Regulatory and history: TFI's original Murray Bridge slaughterhouse was destroyed by fire in January 2018, after which a new plant was built at Pallamana. The Bourke goat slaughterhouse operates under NSW EPA licence 20918, and the South Australian sites are regulated by the SA EPA for odour and wastewater compliance.
Sources: ABN Lookup (abr.business.gov.au); operator website (thomasfoods.com); Meat+Poultry (January 2021); Beef Central (2023, 2024); SA EPA (engage.epa.sa.gov.au); ABC News (January 2018).
ABN Lookup
| ABN | 52 008 178 121 (open lookup) |
| Entity name |
THOMAS FOODS INTERNATIONAL PTY LIMITED (from 08 July 2013) T. & R. PASTORAL PTY. LTD. from 02 May 2002 to 08 July 2013 T. & R. PASTORAL PTY. LTD. from 22 April 2000 to 02 May 2002 |
| Business name | THOMAS FOODS INTERNATIONAL |
| ABN status | Active from 22 April 2000 |
| Entity type | Australian Private Company |
| Goods & Services Tax (GST) | Registered from 01 July 2000 |
| Main business location |
SA 5067 from 17 February 2020 SA 5253 from 26 June 2017 to 17 February 2020 SA 5253 from 22 April 2000 to 26 June 2017 |
| ABN last updated | 17 February 2020 |
| Extracted from ABR | 04 June 2026 |
Facilities (8)
Photos (23)
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Documents (1)
Advocacy materials (0)
News (13)
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Thomas Foods makes multimillion-dollar investment - News | InDaily, Inside South Australia
Thursday 4 Jun 2026 by
South Australian family-owned meat processing company Thomas Foods International is planning to invest $22 million to expand its Southern Cross Feedlot in Tintinara as SA beef exports continue to soar.The plan was submitted to the Coorong District Council to build 66 new shade-covered pens, with each accommodating 160 head of cattle.It would see the Tintinara feedlot capacity increase from 27,000 to 38,000 Standard Cattle Units and needs more hay and grain storage to be located near existing site infrastructure.Thomas Food's Southern Cross Feedlot General Manager James Sage said the proposal would boost operational demand for the Tintinara-based feedlot and generate employment opportunities... Read more >
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Stock shortages blamed for imminent closure of Queensland's largest sheep abattoir at Wallangarra - ABC News
Thursday 4 Jun 2026 by
By Arlie Felton-Taylor, Isobel Roe and David IliffeTue 5 Jul 2016 at 8:57pmTue 5 Jul 2016 at 8:57pmStock shortages of sheep and goats have been blamed for the Wallangarra sheep abattoir closure. (ABC)Low stock numbers and difficult global trading conditions have been blamed for the imminent closure of Queensland's largest sheep-processing facility.Thomas Foods International owns the plant located on the state's southern border, and has confirmed in a statement the Wallangarra abattoir will close on Friday for the "near to medium" future.The Australasian Meat Industry Employees Union said while staff had been offered redundancies or the option to move to a... Read more >
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Queensland sheep industry hit by extended closure of TFI's Wallangarra lamb plant - Sheep Central
Thursday 4 Jun 2026 by
SHEEP, lamb and goat processing in Queensland suffered a blow today with Thomas Foods International announcing the extended closure of its beleaguered small stock plant at Wallangarra due to livestock shortages and difficult global trading conditions. TFI chief executive officer Darren Thomas today advised employees at the south-east Queensland plant it would close on July 8 and cease operations for the near to medium future. The plant has the capacity to process up to 15,250 sheep, lambs and goats a week, but has been closed for the past nine weeks. It has had several temporary closures since TFI bought the abattoir in 2010. "... Read more >
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Meatworks closure 'a sad day' for community
Tuesday 5 Jul 2016 by
UPDATE: A union official has visited the Wallangarra Meatworks site, describing the closure of the facility as a "sad day for the community". Read more >
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Murray Bridge meat processing plant to employ thousands after old abattoir gutted by fire
Thursday 6 Jun 2019 by
It was a South Australian town's biggest employer before a huge fire gutted it. Now, 18 months on, a new abattoir will be built promising up to 2,000 jobs for locals. Read more >
