New Tokoroa milk plant owners offers high returns for local farmers

Olam Food Ingredients (ofi), the company behind a multi-million dollar milk processing plant in Tokoroa, has moved into its second phase of investment and is looking for farmers to supply milk for “specialised and sustainable protein” ingredients.

The company said farmers would benefit from higher returns for their high-value milk products once the plant becomes fully operational, and is on target to begin production before the end of 2023.

Ofi New Zealand operations manager Paul Rennie said local farmers had shown a strong interest in supplying the plant.

“Our intention when we started our investment in Tokoroa was to add additional facilities over time and we are pleased to be progressing our plans for this.

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“When construction of the current dryer is complete, our aim is to enhance its capability, so we can produce specialised protein ingredients with a higher value, in addition to whole milk powder, so that our farming partners can benefit from higher returns in time,” Rennie said.

The Singapore-based company has invested in a number of environmentally sustainable initiatives at its 11.8ha site on the corner of State Highway 1 and Campbell Rd.

Ofi will use wood fibre to heat boilers and waste water to grow trees in an on-site nursery and hopes to employ around 60 locals when production starts.

When complete, the plant will be able to produce whole milk powder and protein concentrates for ofi’s international customers and to serve the growing nutritional industry.

Ofi’s dairy chief executive Sandeep Jain said demand for protein-based ingredients was growing, and their customers were keen to “secure specialised ingredients from New Zealand’s high quality milk pool”.

“We have also offered the customers who will be buying these ingredients the opportunity to partner on sustainability initiatives in New Zealand, which we expect to create further value for our local farmers,” Jain said.

Protein concentrates are typically used in sports and adult nutrition products, and a range of food and beverage applications, such as high-protein beverages and energy snack bars.

“We expect this new investment will help us grow the value of our milk, which creates an opportunity to return value back over time to our farmers as well, in line with our global commitment to producing ingredients in a way that’s socially responsible, economically profitable and environmentally sustainable,” Rennie said.