Fonterra opens New Zealand plant

Fonterra has opened a new plant in Pahiatua, producing milk powder destined for more than 20 markets worldwide. The plant came online in August 2015 and has already produced more than 30,000 metric tonnes of high quality whole milk powder destined for key markets including Sri Lanka and Algeria.

Minister for Primary Industries Hon Nathan Guy joined local farmers and community members to officially open the new plant.

Fonterra chairman John Wilson says the new £153 (€211) million high efficiency dryer is one project in a £1.6 (€2.2) billion investment programme to accommodate milk growth and allows the co-operative to make the most out of its lower North Island farmers milk.

Wilson says, “This new plant will help us process large volumes of milk in a way that delivers the most value to our farmers and will also help us meet the growing global demand for dairy nutrition. Last year, milk production in this region was up 4.3% on the previous year and we expect volumes to increase in the future.”

Fonterra managing director global operations Robert Spurway says the commissioning of the plant was one of the co-operatives smoothest and most efficient. “The team produced some of the best commissioning figures we’ve ever seen and the plant has been operating well above budgeted performance,” he says. “The new dryer was a valuable addition to our asset base ahead of this season’s peak, providing more capacity which allows us to drive greater efficiency and value in our product mix.”

Along with the new plant, the site has added new infrastructure that allows it to manage additional milk volumes. This includes a waste water treatment plant, a reverse osmosis plant that allows the site to reuse its own condensate, a gas fired boiler with a number of heat recovery systems and a distribution centre that’s the size of three rugby fields.