$27m dry store centre

Fonterra's director logistics network, Mark Leslie, says the dry store will provide annual benefits of nearly $5m through reduced operating costs.

"Our seasonal production means that we store product until we receive orders," says Leslie.

"The new dry store will enable us to store product at the site of manufacture right through the peak of the season and to more efficiently manage the flow of goods through to our customers by better utilising the rail infrastructure out of our Crawford St distribution centre."

Fonterra's base storage-capacity in the Waikato for Te Rapa product is currently only 60% of the total requirement.

The new dry store will more than double storage capacity at Te Rapa allowing all production to be stored in the Waikato before flowing direct to port for export.

The dry store is Fonterra's third recent investment in the Waikato including a new UHT milk processing site at Waitoa and the expansion of its Te Rapa cream cheese plant in response to increasing demand for dairy nutrition in Asia.

The Te Rapa dry store investment also follows the recent Whareroa dry store announcement.