“So, it’s just a great opportunity to celebrate and say thank you.”
Twenty-one awards were handed out on the night, covering key areas such as sustainability, innovation, customer service, and safety.
Kane said Taranaki’s Whareroa site was one of the standout performers, taking home three major awards.
“Whareroa picked up the Best Large Site Cup, they also picked up the Japan Cheese Cup, and what was really pleasing was the People’s Cup because it’s a big people site and nothing happens without having great people practices.”
Other highlights included the Hautapu site in Waikato, winning both the Best Medium Site Cup and the Quality Cup.
The site was also acknowledged for its ongoing commitment to building stronger customer relationships and spearheading a successful wastewater treatment upgrade.
One of Kane’s favourite sites was also recognised.
“Top of the South Island, Takaka, they took home the Best Small Site Cup for the second year running.”
Kane said Takaka focused on quality, with consistent productivity, and was “just a really great all-round site”.
Fonterra had had an excellent year so far, and Kane had a few highlights he wanted to share.
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“It’s been a busy year with milk volumes up a bit on last year, so it’s just been good getting through the season and making sure that all gets into product and gets to our customers across the globe.”
Across Fonterra’s sites, significant progress has been made in decarbonisation and strategic investments.
“We commissioned and opened our first electrode boiler in Edendale,” Kane said.
“Then we made announcements for further investments at Edendale, Whareroa and Edgecombe on decarbonisation.
“They’re big projects and they’re really important to give us sustainability and reliability of energy.”
He said there were also growth projects on the go.
“Edenvale with UHT, and we’ve got an advanced protein plant at Studholme.
“And of course, not forgetting our supply chain folk, we’ve got a $150 million cool store at Whareroa.
“As I mentioned with Hautapu, we’ve just finished off that wastewater treatment plant, which is just a fantastic piece of engineering, and it’s going to be really good for the local community there.”
Each of Fonterra’s manufacturing sites plays a role in delivering excellence across sustainability, innovation, and safety.
Kane said the Best Site Cup was a great way to wrap up the season and recognise this.
“[It’s] a really good opportunity to sit back, say thank you, celebrate the great mahi, and get people motivated for what’s going to be another great season coming up.”
