Nestlé and Fonterra open Brazil warehouse

Dairy Partners Americas, a joint venture between Nestlé and New Zealand dairy co-operative Fonterra, has opened a new dairy distribution centre in the Brazilian city of Araras. The facility, which represents an investment of CHF 33m (€27m), will cover an area of 4,600 square metres and feature the very latest cooling technology, according to the company.

The facility has been built on the same site as the Dairy Partners Americas Araras factory, which makes a wide variety of chilled dairy products, including yogurts, desserts and cream cheese. It features cooled tunnels that will connect production lines in the existing factory directly to the storage facility.

Combining the production and cooling site with the distribution facility will offer considerable energy savings – reducing the amount of diesel required for transport, for example, by approximately 150,000 litres, saving 400 tons of CO2 per year.

Dairy Partners Americas, set up in 2003, is the largest dairy company in South America, purchasing and processing some two billion litres of milk each year in Brazil alone. The company has eight factories in the country and provides employment for 2,600 people.