The new facility has the capacity of processing 4.4m litres of milk per day. The 30t/hour drier has the capacity to switch between products quickly to meet demand changes in global markets.

John Wilson, chairman of Fonterra, said “while Lichfield is one of the younger sites, over its 21-year history it has become one of the most significant for our co-op in our ability to meet growing global demand for our dairy products.”

The new drier also has a new distribution centre plus a sophisticated biological wastewater treatment plant, which is the most environmentally sustainable.

Robert Spurway, chief operation officer global operations, said: “The new distribution centre has capacity to store 40,000 tonnes of whole milk powder, which is then loaded into containers and then shipped directly to port via an inbuilt rail siding. This removes 40 truck movements from the site every day, which will not only free up local roads but also reduces our carbon emissions.”

By comparison, the two 7.5t driers at Belview are designed to process up to 2.5m litres of milk a day. The Fonterra one can do 4m litres per day in a single dryer.

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