Allied Grain Systems has launched its first pistachio facility.
When Allied Grain Systems signed on to deliver a new pistachio handling facility in Robinvale, Victoria, it was a deliberate step into unfamiliar territory.
For engineering manager Harrison McInnes and the Allied team, it was a chance to rethink how the company approaches bulk storage outside traditional grain supplies.
Now complete, the Robinvale facility is one of the largest pistachio handling operations of its kind in Australia. Located in the heart of a key pistachio-growing region, the site services two major orchard blocks: an existing operation and a newly developed block that has undergone significant investment to support long-term production growth.
Allied Grain Systems was contracted to design and install four new banks of silos, connected by an overhead steel gantry. The project also involved close collaboration with a specialist conveyor supplier, whose equipment was integrated across the gantry and into the wider materials handling system.
“It’s something completely different to anything we’ve done before,” McInnes said. “Up until this point, our silos have predominantly been focused on grain like wheat, canola, barley, sorghum. We’ve never done nuts until now.”
Unlike traditional grain systems, where material flows relatively predictably through chutes and spouts, pistachios introduce a unique set of handling challenges, and opportunities.
Fresh pistachios are harvested using tree shakers before moving through a processing plant where they are de-husked, dried, and cleaned. From there, they are conveyed to the top of the silo in a form McInnes describes as being closer to a rubber pellet than a grain kernel.
“They come off the tree, go into the plant, get de-husked and dry cleaned, and then they go into the top of the silo,” he said. “They get dropped in and bounce off the deck as they fill the silo.”
Drying is a critical part of the process, and the Robinvale silos have been designed with this in mind. Two large gas heaters force significant volumes of hot air through the system, ensuring moisture is removed efficiently and consistently once the product is in storage.
“The heaters pump heaps of hot air into the silo and dry it out,” McInnes said. “By the time the pistachios are on the conveyor belt, you could basically eat them straight off it.”
Structurally, the facility also departs from Allied’s previous silo designs. New flooring, revised layouts and the overhead gantry system meant the project required a fresh engineering approach, rather than a simple adaptation of existing grain infrastructure.
While the technical challenge was significant, McInnes said the project’s novelty was a major drawcard for the team.
“It being something so different is what made it interesting to us,” he said. “That’s why the team gravitated towards the project initially.”
The pistachio industry, while substantial, is often overlooked when compared with Australia’s major grain sectors. For Allied Grain Systems, the Robinvale project has highlighted both the scale of the opportunity and the importance of flexible engineering solutions across agricultural commodities.
“You forget how big the industry is,” McInnes said. “Nuts can be overlooked, but this has really helped us expand our operations and gain insight into different ways of handling bulk products.”
With one pistachio facility now successfully delivered, Allied Grain Systems has broadened its expertise beyond traditional grain, positioning the company to support a wider range of bulk handling applications as Australian agriculture continues to diversify.
For McInnes and the Allied team, Robinvale stands as proof that stepping outside familiar territory can deliver both technical growth and long-term strategic value one pistachio at a time.