Buttery prize
OPINION: Westland Milk may have won the contract to supply butter to Costco NZ but Open Country Dairy is having the last laugh when it comes to cashing in on NZ grass-fed butter.
Mark de Lautour, chief executive of Open Country Dairy says the opportunity to purchase Miraka happened quickly and made sense for the business.
"We have admired the Miraka location and milk supply network for a long period given it sits nicely between our Whanganui and Waikato operations," de Lautour says.
"While we are still completing our recent Mataura Valley Milk acquisition, we were immediately interested when the opportunity came along to look at Miraka," he says.
De Lautour says that he believes Open Country Dairy's 100% New Zealand-owned company culture, customer relationships and scale makes the acquisition a good strategic fit.
"The shareholders of both Miraka and Open Country believe the deal provides clear benefits for the combined business," he adds.
Currently, Open Country Dairy operates four dairy ingredient manufacturing sites around New Zealand, located in Horotiu, Waharoa, Whanganui and Awarua.
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It will soon add a fifth site, Mataura Valley Milk near Gore, once its conditional acquisition agreement with current shareholders is finalised.
De Lautour says the Miraka acquisition bolsters Open Country's footprint across the Central North Island,
"If you look at where our plants are based, we already have a very strong presence in northern Waikato and Taranaki/Manawatu. Adding Miraka, which is geographically located in the middle of these two areas, gives us a solid footprint into the southern Waikato," he says.
“Over time, the ideal geographic position of Miraka means Open Country can optimise our milk collection across the wider region. Our increased scale throughout the Central North Island allows us to realise some important efficiencies.”
Founded in 2010, Miraka became operational with its first batch of milk powder exports in August 2011 and has grown its production to around 300 million litres of milk per year.
Miraka will continue to operate under its current name and brand in the market, and all milk supply contracts remain in place.
“Even though the Miraka team will operate under its own brand, we will work hard to ensure their suppliers and staff feel a part of the wider Open Country team.”
