Milk powder on line
Production has begun at Fonterra’s new $200 million manufacturing site near Darfield in Canterbury, less than two years after the project began.
Fonterra NZ Milk Products operations director Brent Taylor said the first bags of whole milk powder had rolled off the production line without a hitch and were bound for Southeast Asia, China and the Middle East.
The new plant produced 40 tonnes of milk powder in its first full day of operation.
‘‘It has taken less than two years to bring the project together and it is a significant achievement for the co-op and good news for Canterbury and the wider Christchurch rebuild,’’ Taylor said.
Canterbury was New Zealand’s fastestgrowing region for the dairy industry, with an annual growth rate of about 5 per cent to 6 per cent.
‘‘And with our combined investment of $500m across stage one and two at Darfield, we see a strong future in Central Canterbury,’’ he said.
The new manufacturing site would play an important part in the dairy cooperative’s strategy to optimise its New Zealand milk business.
‘‘We collect milk from our farmers, who are among the best in the world at turning green grass into fresh milk and turn it into high- quality product with world- class efficiency.’’
The Darfield plant is Fonterra’s first new site in 14 years.
‘‘The dryer has been built by GEA Process Engineering to produce 15 tonnes per hour but, once installed, we add our own intellectual property rights – call it our X-factor,’’ Taylor said.
‘‘This helps keep our farmer-shareholders internationally competitive and is aimed at driving more value their way.’’
At peak capacity, Darfield’s dryer would convert about 2.2 million litres of milk a day into 370t of whole milk powder.
Stage two of the site’s development would include extending the site’s dry store, as well as commissioning a second 30t/hour milk dryer tripling the site’s capacity.