Milking success: Celebrating the best at Fonterra’s Site Cup Awards
Last week Fonterra rolled out the red carpet for its annual Best Site Cup Awards, celebrating the incredible work of its New Zealand manufacturing sites over the past season.
Nearly 200 representatives from sites across the country gathered for the 19th year of the event, which recognises excellence in everything from sustainability and safety to innovation and customer service.
New Zealand Manufacturing Director's Award: Darfield Cream Cheese
With 21 awards up for grabs, the night was packed with pride, passion, and a powerful sense of teamwork – all hallmarks of the Co-op spirit.
Director New Zealand Manufacturing Chris Kane welcomed attendees to the event recognising the night as a great opportunity for everyone to get together to celebrate the great mahi done over the past 12 months and expressed the tremendous amount of opportunity for the manufacturing business in the years ahead.
“It’s been a busy year, and everyone here and back at site, has done us proud. So, tonight is about not only celebrating the best of the best, but also to say thank you.”
Chief Operating Officer, Anna Palairet spoke to the team reflecting on the year’s achievements and the collective effort behind them.
“It’s fantastic to be here to celebrate the amazing successes of the year, and to connect with the Co-op whanau. It’s been a monumental year, with a high milk price and earnings back to farmer owners and everyone in manufacturing plays a meaningful role in achieving that.”
It’s been a busy year, and everyone here and back at site, has done us proud.
Whareroa sweeps the stage
Taranaki’s Whareroa site emerged as the standout of the evening, taking home three major awards: Best Large Site Cup, the People Cup, and the Japan Cheese Cup.
- Best Large Site Cup: Whareroa was recognised for its all-round excellence – from strengthening safety practices to embracing sustainability amid unprecedented water restrictions. With an unwavering focus on customer service and talent development, the site has made bold, measurable strides across the board.
- People Cup: The site was recognised for its people-first culture. Guided by the whakataukī, Tē tōia, tē haumatia – Nothing can be achieved without a plan, workforce and a way of doing things, the site has fostered a strong vision backed by diversity, inclusion, and capability-building programmes.
- Japan Cheese Cup: As the second-largest supplier to the Japan market, Whareroa was commended for its seamless collaboration with Fonterra Japan, maintaining excellent customer communication and continuous support throughout the year.
Best Large Site: Whareroa
Best Medium Site: Hautapu
Hautapu makes its mark
Waikato site, Hautapu, also had a big night, picking up both the Best Medium Site Cup and the Quality Cup.
- Best Medium Site Cup: The site was acknowledged for its ongoing improvements across all areas of the business. From building stronger customer relationships to spearheading a successful wastewater treatment upgrade, the site has shown resilience, innovation, and a strong community focus.
- Quality Cup: Known for its complex operations and production of specialised, high-quality products, Hautapu impressed judges with its stable quality performance and a well-embedded culture of quality ownership.
Takaka shines in the south
Takaka, located at the top of the South Island, proudly took home the Best Small Site Cup, standing out for its sharp focus on quality and responsiveness. Strong asset management and consistent productivity, especially during a longer-than-usual season, helped the site maintain top performance right through to season end.
Best Small Site: Takaka
Table of winners
| Award | Winner | Runner up |
| New Zealand Manufacturing Director's Award | Darfield Cream Cheese | - |
| Best Large Site | Whareroa | Darfield |
| Best Medium Site | Hautapu | Waitoa |
| Best Small Site | Takaka | Stirling |
| Best Speciality Cup | Eltham | Kapuni |
| Productivity | Darfield | Maungaturoto |
| Fuel Efficiency | Waitoa | - |
| Tūhono (Safe driving and transport) | Edendale | - |
| Sustainability | Te Rapa | Edendale |
| Compliance | Canpac | Pahiatua |
| Safety | Depots & National Transport | Whareroa |
| Quality | Hautapu | Takaka |
| People | Whareroa | Darfield |
| Customer | Eltham | Edgecumbe |
| Japan Cheese | Whareroa | - |
| Japan Protein | Reporoa | - |
| Greater China Quality Star Milk Powder | Pahiatua | - |
| Greater China Quality Star Cheese | Clandeboye | - |
| Greater China Quality Star Milk Fats | Te Awamutu | - |
| Greater China Quality Star Protein | Reporoa | - |
| Greater China CEO Special Quality | Reporoa | - |
Our manufacturing sites employ close to 7,000 people throughout the country in a range of roles from factory processors to tanker operators, food safety and quality experts and environmental managers – all of them working to turn our farmers milk into products that end up in more than 100 countries around the world.