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Jason Wright, Stanhope plant manager with one of the first batches of cheese made at the new plant.
Fonterra's new $150 million cheese plant in Australia will help meet growing demand, says the co-op’s Australia managing director René Dedoncker.
He says demand for cheese is growing domestically and in Asia, particularly in China and Japan.
“Fonterra is the leader in Australia’s $2 billion consumer cheese category, the market leader in foodservice, providing dairy solutions to chefs across Australia, and one of Australia’s top dairy ingredients exporters.
“The new Stanhope cheese plant helps us build on our market position, ensuring we have a sustainable business that delivers to everyone along the value chain.”
In December 2014, the existing cheese production facility at Stanhope was destroyed by fire.
Fonterra decided to rebuild the plant; the 18 month building and commissioning task employed over 200 people. It included demolishing and rebuilding the fire damaged hard cheese room, installing process plant to increase production of a range of cheeses and building and installing a mozzarella plant.
The project required 7500 tonnes of concrete, about 80 containers of equipment and 330,000 man hours worked by contractors.
The new cheese plant can process up to 1.3 million litres of milk every day.
Victorian Minister for Regional Development, Jaala Pulford, joined Fonterra chairman John Wilson, Fonterra leaders, local farmers and community members to officially open the new plant.
Wilson says Australia is a global ingredients hub for Fonterra’s cheese, whey and nutritionals, complementing its consumer and foodservice businesses.
Wilson says the new Stanhope plant in Victoria will help meet the growing global demand for cheese from a growing middle class in key markets.
“China alone is already a $4.6 billion market for protein, and is growing at 4% per annum,” he says.
Pulford says the Victoria State Government has worked with Fonterra Australia to help rebuild, modernise and expand the Stanhope factory.
“Fonterra will be making cheese in Stanhope, in the heart of Victoria’s dairy country, and sending it around Australia and to the world,” she says.
Northern Victoria MP Jaclyn Symes says the investment secures the future of Fonterra’s Stanhope facility, supporting local jobs and ensuring Northern Victoria farmers have a home for their milk.
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