Multi-million dollar cheese plant equipment arrives in Stanhope

Millions 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.

“We’ve been in discussions with the Stanhope and District Men’s Shed to see if they have any use for the large wooden crates for local projects.

“They’ve happily accepted the challenge and will recycle the crates to build toys and Christmas decorations for underprivileged children which will be given away as Christmas presents. A truly commendable initiative.”

Des Crittin from Stanhope and District Men’s Shed said, “Each year, too many children go without Christmas presents and getting all this recyclable material will mean we can make wonderful wooden toys, like cars, trains and dolls; and at the same time give our men meaningful work in the community.”

When the cheese plant comes online next year, it will increase Fonterra’s cheese production by 50 percent.