Fonterra Australia is matching its push to secure additional milk volumes with more than AU$165 million in capital expenditure in a move to increase capacity and meet unique demand opportunities for dairy.

The new expansion includes:

• Expansion at the flagship Stanhope cheese facility includes 35,000 metric tons for a range of cheeses, including cheddar and mozzarella. This will double the size of the cheese plant.
• At Fonterra Australia’s largest site of Cobden, the investment includes installing robotic palletizers and improvements to the butter plant that produces Australia’s Western Star butter brand.
• The Dennington plant will house a new 25kg packing line for nutritional powders and efficiency.
• Investment in Tasmania, which includes expansion to its Wynyard cheese plant and an increase in lactose processing capacity at Spreyton support an annual increase in cheddar cheese production by around 3,900 metric tons and increase the daily milk volumes processed from 1.3 million liters to 1.5 million.
• An expansion at the Darnum nutritionals plant in Gippsland will support higher production of nutritional powders and whole and skim milk powders for the domestic and international export markets.
• The installation of two robotic palletizers in Bayswater will improve efficiency.

 “We have a clear strategy that is delivering sustainable returns,” says René Dedoncker, managing director of Fonterra Australia. “To create value, we need to invest to stay ahead of the demand curve. These investments support our aim to secure positive returns back to our farmers on both sides of the Tasman.”

In total, the capacity investments will create around 36 jobs, including an additional 15 drivers as well as 14 truck and trailer units across its milk collection regions in Victoria and Tasmania.

“Our Australian milk pool has grown by 400 million liters this season, and with this new investment, we plan to grow our milk further, which we expect will come through growth from our existing farmers who wish to grow, coupled with milk from new suppliers joining Fonterra,” adds Dedoncker.