New Stanhope plant to produce 45,000 tonnes of cheese

Fonterra-10Millions of dollars’ worth of cheese equipment has begun arriving into Stanhope – the Legendairy capital of Australia – that will form Fonterra’s new state-of-the-art cheese plant.

When the new cheese plant comes online mid-2017, it will produce 45,000 tonnes of cheese each year for the domestic and export markets; enough cheese for almost 1 billion cheese toasties.

Fonterra Australia Regional Operations Manager Jason Wright said the site is a hive of activity with all the building, equipment arriving and the beginning of the assembly process.

“With the shell of the building nearing completion, we are now taking delivery of the equipment that will form the cheese making plant. With a cheese plant this size, putting it together is like assembling a giant jigsaw puzzle. We have around one hundred staff and contractors on site each day helping with the build.”

With so much equipment comes the potential for a lot of waste material as the equipment is transported in large wooden crates inside shipping containers to keep it safe and stable.

“Operating sustainably and doing the right thing for our community is very important for our business and our people at Stanhope.”