ArNoCo established by Arla Foods and DMK

DMK (Deutschen Milchkontor, the merger of Nordmilch and Humana) and Arla Foods are establishing a 50/50 per cent joint venture to start a whey processing partnership for the global food manufacturing industry. The name of the new joint venture will be ArNoCo, and both partners will invest a total of EUR44 million, of which EUR35 million will be used to build a whey processing plant at DMK’s cheese plant at Nordhackstedt in Northern Germany, while EUR9 million will be spent at Arla Foods’ plant Danmark Protein in Vium, Denmark.
The joint venture will buy more than 700,000 tonnes of whey from DMK annually and convert it into whey protein concentrate and lactose at the new plant. The WPC will then be dried at Arla Foods’ plant Danmark Protein. DMK will supply all related services on behalf of ArNoCo. Arla Foods Ingredients will market, sell and distribute the products to the global food manufacturing industry.
Construction is expected to begin in October 2011, and the plant is scheduled to be in operation by the end of 2012 creating around 24 jobs. ArNoCO will be headed by managing directors Finn Simonsen from Arla Foods Ingredients and B. v. Borstel from DMK, as well as CEO designate Dr Josef Schweiger (pictured). “We have identified the whey business as an important part of Arla Foods’ 2015 strategy and we are set to double the turnover of our whey business. This is an important step forward in achieving that goal,” says Peder Tuborgh, CEO of Arla Foods.
Adds Dr Schweiger: “Expanding the ingredients business is one of DMK’s strategic growth areas. Its alliance with Arla in ArNoCo is therefore an important step towards higher added value and will strengthen the Nordhackstedt location’s position for the long term.”