Today was declared 'Happy Norco Day' by the politicians present at the official reopening of the Norco ice cream factory in South Lismore.

Of course, the reopening came at a cost both to Norco and the federal and state government to the tune of over $100 million. That is $55 million from the two levels of government and $45+ million from Norco.

But what cost can you put on one of Lismore's anchor businesses and Lismore's largest employer? An organisation that has been an iconic symbol of Lismore since it was founded 120 years ago.

Today, CEO Michael Hampson told the gathered media contingent that 130 people now had jobs on the Norco site at South Lismore with more to be added in the coming months.

"We will be doing some further investment in this particular site. We'll be adding further production lines. We will look to most likely put on another 20 to 30 people in the New Year as well and we will continue to invest in Lismore. Lismore has been, and always will be, the home of Norco."

Norco's massive investment has committed Australia's largest farmer-owned dairy co-operative (190 farms) to Lismore to drive economic activity and jobs not only for Lismore but for the Northern Rivers.

Mr Hampson said that between $20 and $25 million worth of direct investment by Norco was through wages and contractors each year.

Two people earning a part of those wages are Jessica Anderson and Glenn Macintosh.

(Glenn Macintosh and Jessica Anderson in front of the Norco ice cream cart)

Jessica is the production coordinator for the filling rooms.

Jessica's journey since February 28 2022 has been uncertain but also has seen her learn new skills.

"At the time of the flood, I was a supervisor inside and it was a bit uncertain. I did a lot of work liaising between our workers and community organisations, we had them rostered out to do work in the community such as Orange Sky Laundry, Lifeline and Foodbank.

"That was probably a six-month period. And then, when we were kept on for the project, I joined part of the safety team. So I inducted contractors into part of the safety on site. I got to liaise with and build relationships with all of the contractors that came on-site. We had about 100 contractors a day during the project rebuild from all over the place. We had international, of course, so some of our programming and equipment had their international teams come on-site and then local sparkies, chippies, plumbers and concreters."

"I was definitely put to the test. Safety and working on a construction site was definitely something I hadn't thought of doing before, but really enjoyed the whole process."

Michael Hampson said that every pre-flood staff member who wanted to continue with Norco has been hired again.

Jessica said it's been really good to welcome all of the stood-down staff back.

"We're pretty much family to each other. You spend more time at work than you do at home most of the time so that's been really good too."

Jessica said Norco is hiring new production employees now and one of the perks, if you're in the right position is the free ice cream. The white chocolate macadamia is a favourite.

Glenn Macintosh had one of the most challenging jobs on the rebuild as he is the electrical coordinator.

Throughout our big flood journey, electricity supply is one of the largest costs associated with the total losses a business suffers through transformers and electrical switchboards.

The photo below shows one of three transformer rooms that have been moved to above 15m. Each room supplies the electricity through the roof down to the operating machinery on the floor below. It is easier and less costly to clean and fix/rebuild a flooded piece of equipment than to order and rebuild the electricity supply.

"Massive, absolutely massive, Glenn explained, "I mean, just the weight of the boards, getting them up there, getting the cables run to them, it was a Herculean task but well worth it."

"We spent a lot of time stressing about whether we were going to get the boards and all the rest of stuff on time. We were phoning guys and making arrangements and our suppliers really bent over backwards to help us to get it done."

The first lot of power to the boards was put on in June this year which was then supplied to the rest of the factory.

"Multiply that by three boards because we have three separate transformers. So fairly big because we had to gut the boarding, and take all the old cabling out so it was huge."

Glenn's journey has also been a massive learning curve that has been really rewarding.

"I've made a lot of friends with local electoral contractors. Seeing how everyone pitched in, you know from the community. I'm from Casino, don't hold that against me, but the way that Lismore has gone has just been amazing."

Glenn's role in helping to rebuild the electrical side of Norco is one of many components. To rebuild a full food manufacturing facility in 18 months is quite a feat. To give you an idea, this is what has been rebuilt and constructed:

The funding has supported Norco to rebuild with a flood-proof design and technologies that have equipped the site to defend a 15.0M flood – higher than the 2022 levels:

• Positioning expensive specialised equipment like switchboards 15 metres above ground.
• Installing quick-release capabilities to items such as pumps so they can be moved easily.
• Installing two mezzanines to allow staff to lift pallets of equipment greater than 15 metres high.
• Installing nib walls to protect equipment that cannot be moved.
• Installing additional sumps and pumps within the flood barriers to deal with any water leaks.
• Implementing a four-stage flood management plan that is reviewed and practised regularly to ensure best practice and safe evacuation procedures.
• Installing infrastructure to detect unprecedented disaster events, such as fires.

It is estimated that Norco staff can execute their flood plan in about 16 hours, that is with the forklifts leaving the site as the final step. This is where the improvement of our flood warning system is critical.

Norco's 120-year Lismore journey continues. As Michael Hampson said, "Hopefully for another 120 years."