Fonterra opens new ingredients factory at the Netherlands

New Zealand-based dairy cooperative Fonterra has opened a new ingredients factory at Heerenveen in the Netherlands.

The new facility is Fonterra’s first wholly owned and operated ingredients plant in Europe. Fonterra has partnered with Dutch conglomerate A-Ware Food Group to set up the factory.

Fonterra has built the 25ha facility near A-Ware’s new cheese plant that will be used for processing the by-products from the latter’s cheese-making process such as whey and lactose. The company intends to use the whey and lactose in producing paediatric, maternal and sports nutrition products.

Fonterra chief executive Theo Spierings said: "Our strategy is a good fit with A-ware’s long-term vision, so it’s a win-win for both companies and it’s great to see the partnership come to fruition.

"We have substantial intellectual property in manufacturing functional whey protein ingredients, and having a high-quality, high-volume source based in Europe will allow us to commercialise these innovations for our customers all over the world."

The plant is expected to process one billion litres of milk annually and will also produce 5,000t of whey protein and 25,000t of lactose every year.

New Zealand’s associate minister of trade Todd McClay said: "New Zealand dairy companies now export almost as much product from Europe as they do to Europe, and Fonterra is a major investor in the European dairy market.

"The collaboration between Fonterra and A-Ware is exactly the kind of cooperation we would like to see more of under an EU-New Zealand free trade agreement, which we hope to launch in the near future."

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Image: (left to right) Fonterra CEO Theo Spierings, His Majesty King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands and Jan Anker of Royal A-ware Food Group at inauguration ceremony for the new Heerenveen facility. Photo: courtesy of Fonterra.