First product from Fonterra's UHT plant expected in March

Fonterra’s new $120 million UHT milk processing facility will be up and running shortly, following 12 months of construction. The site’s first Anchor UHT product is expected to roll off the line in March.

The site includes five new UHT processing lines that will produce a range of products including Anchor UHT white milk and UHT cream. It will process more than 100 million litres of milk per year once all five lines are operating.

“The site’s technology means we can produce up to 24,000 milk packs an hour per line. They will be flying off the line,” said UHT Operations Manager Donald Lumsden.

Fonterra employees Te Ngahau Bates and Eddie West monitor a processing line at Fonterra’s new UHT facility. The white packs contain water which was run through the site’s processing lines.

To test the site’s milk processing and packaging capabilities, water commissioning has begun. This means operating the site on water to ensure all elements of production are in working order before the first product is produced.

“Running water through the processing lines ensures we can vigorously test how the milk and packaging will be processed. It lets us know that the site is ready to begin processing milk,” said Lumsden.

“This is a very exciting time for Fonterra. The global demand for dairy is growing and we’re now well positioned to meet this growth with our new state-of-the-art UHT milk processing site at Waitoa. The site will enable us to optimise the milk our farmers produce by turning it into high-value consumer products that will meet market demand in Asia.”