Heat treated milk expansion at Goodman Fielder

Goodman Fielder is to expand and upgrade its ultra heat treated (UHT) milk plant in Christchurch, increasing its capacity to meet growth opportunities across the Asia Pacific region.

The $27m project will see the extension of the existing UHT building, installation of a new pasteurising, sterilising and palletising line as well as the installation of a new 250ml high speed filler.

The work is expected to be completed by October 2015 and will boost production at the site by around 32 million litres a year, an increase of 50 percent on the plant’s existing UHT volume.

Goodman Fielder CEO, Chris Delaney, says the project would enable the company to leverage its existing export capacity to Asia Pacific by meeting the growing demand for dairy products across the region and particularly in China.

“The premium UHT category in Asia Pacific is anticipated to grow by around 50 percent over the next five years. This project will provide us with additional capacity to address this growing market through our iconic New Zealand Meadow Fresh brand and distribution capability,” says Delaney.

“We are seeing increasing demand for our Meadow Fresh products in Asia Pacific, particularly China, as we continue to build on New Zealand’s natural, high quality dairy credentials. We are investing now to meet that demand and also plan for future growth.

“It is also very rewarding to be able to commit to a major investment at Meadow Fresh Christchurch given the impact that natural disasters have had on our site and our people over the last three years,” he said.