FONTERRA Australia has announced it will invest $6.6 million to upgrade the cheese production system at its Wynyard, Tasmania site.
Fonterra has partnered with the federal government to realise this investment, receiving a $659,000 grant through the Clean Technology Food and Foundries Investment Program.
Climate Change, Industry and Innovation Minister Greg Combet congratulated Fonterra on their Clean Technology Food and Foundries Investment Program funding and said Fonterra was being innovative and proactive in setting the business up for a low carbon economy.
“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,†Mr Combet said.
The new system includes eight new, state-of-the-art cheese vats which will: improve efficiency in Wynyard’s cheese production; allow for a potential future increase in capacity; and, enable Fonterra to continue to deliver a great quality cheese product for domestic and international customers.
Fonterra Australia managing director Judith Swales said the company had been investing over the years to develop a platform for growth in Tasmania and this investment continued that trend.
«By improving the efficiency of our factory and using less energy, we will boost the competitiveness of our high-value domestic and export products that Wynyard manufactures, allowing us to maximise returns,» she said.
In line with Fonterra’s commitment to sustainability, the project will leverage Wynyard’s existing cogeneration system thereby reducing carbon dioxide emissions from the essential milk-warming portion of the cheese making process by 90 per cent. These efficiency gains will result in significant energy cost savings.
Works to install the system will commence in June 2013.
Fonterra’s Wynyard manufacturing facility manufactures over 30,000 tonnes of bulk cheese each year for the domestic, export and foodservices markets, as well as whey protein concentrate.
Fonterra collects milk from almost 260 dairy farmer suppliers in Tasmania.
Source: Farm Weekly
