Fonterra has commissioned a new 30t/hour dryer at its Lichfield site in Waikato in New Zealand’s North Island. The new high-efficiency dryer is of similar capacity to Fonterra’s other plant at Darfield in the South Island, which until now was the largest milk drying plant in the world.

The plant cost $360m and has the capacity to process an additional 4.4m litres per day. Fonterra’s chief operating officer Robert Spurway said that large-scale dryers play a key role in driving value for Fonterra.

“The capacity these assets give us takes the pressure off during the peak of the season, meaning we have more freedom to prioritise milk into higher-returning products,” he said.

ADVERTISEMENT

The new dryer is supported by a biological wastewater treatment plant capable of turning dairy waste into fertiliser. South Waikato operations manager Sam Mikaere said that the fertiliser is then spread on to neighbouring farmland as part of Fonterra’s commitment to environmental sustainability.

Read more

New Zealand banks confident of weathering dairy storm

250,000-litre milk silo collapses at Fonterra plant