Two Major NZ Dairy Deals Completed
Two major acquisitions in the New Zealand dairy sector were completed this week.
Synlait milk has doubled its milk powder canning capability with the opening of a $55 million facility at Mangere, Auckland.
The blending and consumer-goods packaging plant can pack 32,000 tonnes annually.
The plant removes the single-site risk inherent in operating the Dundandel plant only.
The company expects demand for consumer packaged products to increase significantly in the near term. A tremendous amount of work has gone into this milestone, says chief executive John Penno.
“We acquired this partially completed facility in May and have done a lot of work to commission it in just over six months.
“We have employed a great team of 30 people to operate the facility and we expect that number to increase to 100 in the coming year as we add additional shifts.”
Synlait is bracing for growth in business with infant formula customers.
“Under the Chinese Food and Drug Administration infant formula rules coming into effect on January 1, 2018 this second site enables us to increase the potential number of our customer brands we can export to China.”
OPINION: After much wrangling, the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between New Zealand and India is a step closer to fruition.
North Otago farmer Leilani Lobb has been named the 2026 Dairy Women’s Network (DWN) Regional Leader of the Year.
There's optimism emerging among farmers on the Chatham Islands after years of an irregular and poor shipping service.
Bay of Plenty leader and General Manager of Te Tawa Kaiti Lands Trust, Hinehou Timutimu, has been announced as the 2026 Fonterra Dairy Woman of the Year.
A large-scale modern orchard development in coastal Mid-Canterbury is expected to eventually produce 116 million apples a year from 900,000 trees while also becoming a significant employer for the region.
Silver Fern Farms has announced a major capital investment valued at over $100 million to redevelop freezing, cold storage, and automation facilities at its Finegand Site near Balclutha.