Butter output doubles

Hokitika could soon be churning out more than 40,000 tonnes of butter a year.

Westland Milk Products has opened a $40 million butter plant at its West Coast site, replacing a facility built in 1973.

The new plant has doubled annual production capacity to 42,000 tonnes of Westland’s popular Westgold butter, making it one of the largest butter factories in the country.

Westland chief executive Richard Wyeth said installation began at the end of last season, and had presented a few challenges.

‘‘We had to stop production in the old plant, take it all out and then shoehorn the new plant into the old building.

‘‘This building required earthquake strengthening and some asbestos to be removed, so it was a really complicated project.’’

The plant was part of an investment plan by Westland’s owner, Chinese dairy giant Yili, and was a significant but necessary capital investment, Wyeth said.

‘‘Installing the new butter plant was fundamental to us delivering a good result,’’ he said.

Increasing global sales of Westgold butter had been planned since 2017 but the configuration of the factory, which previously had a single churn, had capped production capacity.

The installation of two German-built churns would allow one churn to run on salted and the other unsalted, giving Westland the ability to choose the product mix it wanted to run, rather than have it dictated by factory design.

Advancements in packaging technology also meant the plant could produce butter packs ranging from 180g pats to 1kg blocks for sale in New Zealand and export to Australia and the United States.

Wyeth said Westland had ‘‘no intention’’ of taking its foot off the accelerator.

It had a five-year business strategy to move away from being a producer of bulk dairy commodities and focus on producing consumer products.

As well as announcing a $40m improvement in profit, the company was forecasting a record milk price for the 2021-22 season.

‘‘The progress we have achieved one year into the plan is fantastic.

‘‘Everyone involved with Westland should be extremely proud.’’