The three new state-of-the-art units are a new MPC (milk protein concentrate) plant, a reverse osmosis plant and an AMF (anhydrous milk fat).

The new plants were opened by NZ’s Deputy Prime Minister, Bill English, who praised the ongoing success of Fonterra’s Edendale operation.

The expansion will increase processing capacity by 1.4m litres a day to more than 16.4m litres, producing 430,000t of dairy products annually, making Edendale the largest dairy processing site in the world.

Robert Spurway, Fonterra’s director of global operations, said the plants would increase flexibility to the co-op.

He also said the Edendale plant would no longer be constrained and would be able to shift its product range to more value added products at different times during the season.

Fonterra director, Leonie Guiney, dairy farmer with husband, Cork man Kieran Guiney in Canterbury, and former adviser of Irish grass management, believes that the Edendale plant was the “jewel of the crown” for Fonterra.