17 Aug 2012 --- The first bags of whole milk powder have rolled off the production line at Fonterra's new $200 million manufacturing site near Darfield in Canterbury and are bound for South East Asia, China and the Middle East.

Brent Taylor, our Director of Operations – NZ Milk, says it was smooth running for the new plant, which produced 40 metric tonnes of product in its first full day of operations.

“It has taken less than two years to bring the project together and it is a significant achievement for us and good news for Canterbury and the wider Christchurch rebuild, he says.

“More than 1500 people have been involved in construction of the first drier and all their hard work has paid off.

With an annual growth rate of around five to six per cent, Canterbury is New Zealand’s fastest growing region for dairy.

“The total investement in Darfield across Stage One and Two is $500 million and we see a strong future in Central Canterbury,” says Brent.

Darfield will play an important part in Fonterra’s strategy to optimise the New Zealand milk business.

“We collect milk from our farmers, who are among the best in the world at turning green grass into fresh milk, and turn it into high quality product with world-class efficiency.”

Darfield is our first new site in 14 years and is fitted with world-leading innovation and technology.

“The drier has been built by GEA Process Engineering to produce 15MT per hour but, once installed, we add our own intellectual property rights – call it our x-factor,” Brent says.

“This helps keep our farmer-shareholders internationally competitive and is aimed at driving more value their way.”

At peak capacity, Darfield Drier 1 will convert about 2.2 million litres of milk per day into 370MT of whole milk powder. Stage Two includes extension the site’s dry store as well as the commissioning of a second 30MT per hour milk drier – Darfield Drier 2 – which will triple the site’s capacity.

Key facts
•    Fonterra Darfield is located near Racecourse Hill in Darfield, 800m from State Highway 73.
•    Around 7700m3 of concrete and 1200MT of steel has been used in the construction of Darfield Drier
•    About 85km of stainless steel tubing has been installed – enough to cross Cook Strait three times.
•    It took one million man hours to complete, the equivalent of 10 people working full time for 50 years.
•    The site will produce high-quality instant and regular whole milk powder (WMP), destined for countries in Asia and the Middle East.
•    The 25kg bags are first packed onto pallets then into containers and delivered to port.
•    The new site will reduce the distance Fonterra milk tankers need to travel by 20,000 kilometres per day.