Fonterra, the New Zealand dairy ingredients cooperative, has received approval for a $212 million expansion at its Edendale, New Zealand plant.
A resource management committee has agreed to give Fonterra permission to exceed the permitted heights in the district plan and build a 70m boiler stack, a 31m boiler building and a 60m milk drier building. The milk dryer will be one of the largest powder plants in the world.
According to Fonterra chief executive Andrew Ferrier, the new milk dryer is to handle expected growth in the South Island’s milk supply, forecast to rise significantly by the 2012/13 season.
The new dryer will manufacture regular UHT milk and instant wholemilk powders, and will take the site’s peak processing capacity to over 15 million litres a day. At the peak of the season, Fonterra processes about 70 million litres a day, nationally.
The plant’s third milkpowder plant, costing $113 million, and its second powder plant, which cost $149 million in 2002, were built by an Auckland company, Nico New Zealand.
At Edendale Fonterra produces four varieties of powder (wholemilk, skimmilk, buttermilk and fat filled) for customers in Asia, North and South America, the Middle East and Africa.
It also makes cheddar cheese, mainly for Japan and the Middle East, anhydrous milkfat (AMF) for the USA, Canada and Europe, lactose and whey cheese for the New Zealand market, casein for Japan and North America, and whey protein concentrate.