Fonterra's New Netherlands Site Celebrates Royal Official Opening

09 Jul 2015 --- Fonterra’s new site in Heerenveen in the Netherlands has officially opened, with His Majesty the King of the Netherlands Willem-Alexander in attendance alongside Fonterra Chairman John Wilson and CEO Theo Spierings for the proceedings. The King was given a tour of the site, talking with employees and seeing first-hand how the partnership between Fonterra and Dutch cheese manufacturer Royal A-ware works.

The 25-hectare site represents a significant investment and will give Fonterra cost-effective, reliable and continual access to high-quality whey and lactose, to use in manufacturing high-value paediatric, maternal and sports nutrition products. 
 
Mr Spierings said the site was an integral part of Fonterra’s long-term strategy for building global milk pools. 
 
“Our strategy is a good fit with A-ware’s long-term vision, so it’s a win-win for both companies and it’s great to see the partnership come to fruition,” Mr Spierings said. 
 
“We have substantial intellectual property in manufacturing functional whey protein ingredients, and having a high-quality, high-volume source based in Europe will allow us to commercialise these innovations for our customers all over the world.”
 
Heerenveen consists of two plants side by side; A-ware’s plant produces cheese for its customers in Europe, while Fonterra’s plant processes the whey and lactose from A-ware’s plant, as by-products of the cheese-making process. 
 
It is Fonterra’s first wholly owned and operated ingredients plant in Europe, processing one billion litres of milk each year, and producing 5,000 metric tonnes of whey protein and 25,000 metric tonnes of lactose annually. 
 
The partnership increases Fonterra’s ability to access a globally traded whey protein and lactose market that was worth more than NZ $2.7 billion in 2014.
 
“This strategic partnership logically connects two successful businesses so they can optimally align their chain from consumer to cow, thereby effectively meeting the demands of the end-user,” said Jan Anker, CEO at Royal A-ware. 
 
The Royal A-ware plant forms part of Fonterra's fully integrated global supply chain from the farm gate direct to global consumers, using Fonterra's manufacturing sites in New Zealand, Australia and Europe. Heerenveen is Fonterra’s first wholly owned and operated manufacturing plant in Europe. 
 
Fonterra CEO Theo Spierings said: "The commissioning of our new plant in Heerenveen further strengthens our ability to deliver high-quality, advanced dairy nutrition that meets the needs of our priority markets and global customers. Fonterra has secured patents for the production of functional whey proteins. For some time now Fonterra had been looking for a source of high-quality whey to enable us to commercialise these innovations under our own NZMP brand. Our partnership with Royal A-Ware fits well with our strategic priorities aimed at increasing the volume and value of our ingredients and branded products.”

Royal A-ware produces 80,000 to 100,000 tonnes of cheese per year, which is more than half of the amount it trades. The whey released during the process will be used within high-value nutrition products produced in Fonterra’s adjacent ingredients plant. Fonterra produces 5,000 Metric Tonnes of Whey and 25,000 Metric Tonnes of Lactose per year.

Where possible, both organisations use sustainable equipment during construction and design of its plants, minimising energy and water consumption. In early June 2015 solar panels were installed on the premises’ roof so the plants could generate a large part of the energy they use themselves. Royal A-ware and Fonterra are currently investigating whether the remaining energy needs can be obtained through geothermal energy.