A $63.5 million extension of the Westland Milk Products factory in Hokitika has been finalised.
The completed project will add 22 jobs, increasing staff numbers to 242 and boosting daily processing capacity from 2.6 million litres of milk a day to 3.7 million litres.
The extensions will be carried out in two
stages, with stage one being the building of a $38 million specialised protein plant.
"We will be putting more of our milk solids into added-value products," said operations manager Hugh Little.
The protein plant, to be supplied by Downer MBL, will produce a variety of value products including milk protein concentrates used in cheese, whey protein concentrates, a major ingredient in infant and body building formulas, and rennet casein, which is insoluble and used in imitation cheese manufacture and bakery glazes and as a base product in plastics manufacture.
The company is focused on maintaining a competitive edge.
"That does not mean we will be moving away from milk powder and butter," Mr Little said. "It means the additional milk supplied in future will be put into new specialised products."
Stage one also includes the relocation and upgrade of the Karamea processing plant.
The plant - currently capable of processing 400,000 litres a day - will be upgraded to a daily processing capacity of 700,000 litres.
A new administration block accommodating technical services, staff amenities and management offices is also part of stage one. Local construction company Evan Jones will begin work next month.
The $25.5 million second stage involves the installation of several plants, including a highly specialised Dutch-designed drying plant.
Mr Little said the drying plant was the latest developed and incorporated the most up-to-date spray-drying technology in the world.
It is was due to open in August 2006.
- NZPA
