Fonterra Australia invests $6.2m in Cobden Spreads plant

New Zealand-based dairy company Fonterra has invested A$6.2m ($47.2m) to expand the cool room at its Cobden Spreads plant, which produces Australian butter brand Western Star.

The investment will also include use of automatic guided vehicles (AGVs), which will move the finished product off the line and stack away into flow-through pallet racking, increasing efficiency.

The cool room expansion will enhance the storage capacity of butters and spreads once they come off the production line. It will also help the company to meet the growing demand for its dairy products.

Fonterra Australia regional operations manager West Andrew Nooy said: “Western Star is going from strength to strength, winning a bigger slice of the butter and spreads market as consumers shift back to eating more natural foods and incorporating it into their cooking.

“One pack of Western Star Butter is sold every minute in Australia, and the cool room expansion will give us plenty of room to keep up with demand.”

“AGVs and flow-through pallet racking are already in use in our state-of-the-art Beverages Plant, and are highly efficient, as they reduce handling of the finished product.

“Importantly, introducing the same technology to the spreads cool room will improve the safety of the site for our people by segregating pedestrians and forklifts, reducing the risk of a collision.

“With Cobden now Fonterra’s largest Australian site, employing over 300 people, it’s critical that we keep our people safe.”

The expansion works are expected to be completed within seven months. Last year, Western Star sales reached approximately $150m and is expected to grow further.

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Image: Fonterra invested $6.2m to expand the cool room at its Cobden Spreads plant in Australia. Photo: courtesy of Fonterra Co-operative Group.