Fonterra Australia has announced it will invest $6.6 million to boost the efficiency of its Tasmanian cheese production as 300 jobs are cut at its NZ headquarters.
Fonterra said it will install eight new cheese vats in its cheese production system at Wynyard to improve efficiency, allow for a potential future increase in capacity, and help the company continue to deliver a quality cheese products for domestic and international customers.
Fonterra Australia's newly appointed managing director, Judith Swales, said that by using less energy and improving efficiency, the NZ dairy products company can boost the competitiveness of the high-value domestic and export products that Wynyard manufactures.
“Australia is a must-win for Fonterra. We have been investing over the years to develop a platform for growth in Tasmania and this investment continues that trend,” she said.
The news comes as the NZ diary giant announces plans to cut up to 300 New Zealand corporate jobs in a bid to save $NZ65 million dollars (A$54 million).
Fonterra’s Wynyard manufacturing facility collects milk from almost 260 dairy farmer suppliers in Tasmania to produce over 30,000 tonnes of bulk cheese each year for the domestic, export and foodservice markets, as well as whey protein concentrate.
The project will leverage Wynyard’s existing cogeneration system to reduce carbon dioxide emissions from the essential milk-warming portion of the cheese making process by 90 per cent. Installation of the new system will start in June.
The federal government is contributing a $659,000 grant through the Clean Technology Food and Foundries Investment Program.
The investment and grant were announced yesterday at the Fonterra Wynyard site by the Prime Minister, Julia Gillard and the Federal Member for Braddon and Parliamentary Secretary for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, Sid Sidebottom.
Minister for Climate Change, Industry and Innovation, Greg Combet, congratulated Fonterra on the funding.
“Fonterra will see a real difference to their energy consumption with this investment in energy efficient capital equipment and low emissions technology. Investing in clean technology is good for a company’s environmental footprint and good for their bottom line,” he said.
