Located 25km outside Buenos Aires the new facilities were opened this week with the Danish ambassador to Argentina in attendance.
As the economies of Argentina, Brazil and Chile undergo rapid economic development, Arla Food Ingredients has seen its dairy business outgrow its previous South American base.
“The business has grown considerably over the last eight years, and customers visit our application centre regularly. We had simply outgrown our old facilities,” said Bjarne Schack Pedersen, managing director of Arla Foods Ingredients South America.
There are currently 25 employed at the South American subsidiary. Six are employed at the new application centre that is equipped with pilot plants for testing functional milk proteins in yoghurt, ice cream, cream cheese and soup.
Additional spray-drying tower
Last year Arla inaugurated a second spray-drying tower at its whey processing plant in Argentina at the cost of $35m. The tower was built to convert permeate left over from whey protein concentrate into useful dairy ingredients.
A year on, Pedersen said there has been high interest in its premium quality permeate. Explaining what its value for food manufacturers, he said: “Using our permeate, it is possible to replace the lactose and, to some extent, milk powder in ice cream and chocolate. Customers find they can reduce their costs without affecting quality.”
Arla Foods published its financial results for 2010 this week, reporting an increase in overall turnover of 6 per cent to DKK 49bn. The ingredients business grew 23 per cent.