Fonterra to rebuild Victorian plant destroyed by fire

Fonterra Australia will invest $132 million to build a state-of-the-art cheese plant at its Stanhope factory in Victoria, replacing the hard cheese plant destroyed by fire in December 2014.

The facility, which will produce cheeses for Australian consumer, foodservice and export markets, will have a capacity of 45,000 Mt of cheeses each year, including parmesan, gouda and mozzarella — an increase of 15,000 Mt on the previous plant.

“Importantly, the new plant will require significant growth of the local milk pool by 2020 and demonstrates Fonterra’s commitment to growing the industry long-term. It means our local farmers can be assured of the future of dairy in northern Victoria,” said Fonterra Oceania Managing Director Judith Swales.

The multimillion-dollar project will secure the future of the site and generate up to 30 jobs. It is being supported by the Victorian Government through its Regional Jobs and Infrastructure Fund.

Construction of the new plant is expected to be completed in 2017.