Arla increases Argentina production

Danish Arla Foods Ingredients is investing $20 million in its milk powder venture in Argentina.

The plant in Argentina processes added value whey protein powder, which is sold as ingredients primarily to the dairy and baking industries. Until now, it has only been possible to use 30% of the whey for ingredients with the rest sold as liquid animal feed. “The investment will allow us to process 100%. It has been difficult to process whey permeate powder of a high quality due to its sensitivity to humidity but now new technologies have been developed which can cope with the problem,” says Henrik Andersen, who is responsible for Arla Foods Ingredients’ whey protein segment.
A new spray tower will be erected to dry the permeate. From the autumn 2009, the powder products produced will be sold as ingredients mainly to food producers in South America. “Compared to our current whey protein powder, the whey permeate powder will be a standard product, but considerably more profitable than animal feed,” Andersen says.
The Argentinean operation, a joint venture between Arla Foods and the local dairy group SanCor, has been in operation for five years.