Open Country opens butter plant
When American retail giant Cosco came to audit Open Country Dairy’s new butter plant at the Waharoa site and give the green light to supply their American stores, they allowed themselves a week for the exercise.
Open Country Dairy chief executive Steve Koekemoer says the record collection included an incredible recovery towards the end of the season, which ended May 31.
"The whole Open Country team has done an outstanding job to get all the milk processed into high quality ingredients and to sell and export them to our global customers," he says.
Koekemoer notes that the 2020-21 season had been a difficult one for the industry due to the supply chain constraints for shipping and getting product to market.
And he doesn't see this situation easing any time soon.
"We continue to manage it proactively to ensure we keep product moving and customers supplied.
"Our plans for the next peak are already well defined, which gives me confidence that we will get through anything that is thrown at us."
OCD's four processing sites performed extremely well throughout the season; the plants are now undergoing winter maintenance.
Koekemoer says OCD successfully commissioned its new air heater at the Horotiu site.
"The upgraded heater is delivering a far better performance than its predecessor and hasn't missed a beat since start up."
Koekemoer says OCD has received a number of requests from farmers to expand capacity at sites to accommodate growth and new supply.
"We are currently reviewing options, as we understand our farmers' need to grow and for us to grow with them."
