What Would Synlait Be Worth to Fonterra or a2 Milk?
Speculation of a possible joint move by Fonterra and a2 Milk to buy Synlait raises a much bigger strategic question, says agribusiness expert Dr Nic Lees.
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.”
