Dairy Trust hungry for Open Country

New Zealand dairy processor Dairy Trust is planning a full takeover of Open Country Cheese as it looks to become a nation-wide player.

Chief executive Mark Fankhauser says the Auckland-headquartered company expects to have its first milk powder plant in Southland up and running in about four weeks, with consents in place for three further potential sites.
However, Dairy Trust has no desire to compete with the world’s biggest dairy exporter, Fonterra. “We’re a niche player and we really don’t have a desire to ever consume more than what the market’s organically growing at,” says Fankhauser.
The company, which was set up last year by meat processor Affco, would like to build another plant this year, he adds. Open Country Cheese production included cheese, butter oil, whey powder concentrate and whole milk powder, with a capacity for about 70,000 tonnes of product each year.