Swiss dairy giant Nestlé announced earlier today that operations at Dairy Partners Americas' new CHF 33m ($37m, €27m) dairy distribution centre in the Brazilian city of Araras have began.
The new facility has been built at Dairy Partners Americas existing Araras processing site, where the company manufactures a wide range of chilled dairy products, including yogurts, desserts and cream cheese.
Cooled tunnels will connect production lines in Dairy Partners Americas’ existing factory to the new 4,600 square metre storage facility. According to Nestlé, linking its manufacturing and cooling site with the new distribution facility will provide “considerable energy savings.”
Nestlé has branded the investment a "testament to the company’s commitment to the country."
“Over the last 10 years, we have invested 3bn reais in Brazil by opening new facilities and extending existing ones, and by investing in technology, innovation and people,” said Nestlé CEO, Paul Bulke, in a statement.
New Zealand-based dairy cooperative Fonterra and Vevey-based Nestlé forged an alliance in 2001 to create Dairy Partners Americas. Operations began in Brazil, Argentina and Venezuela in January 2003, followed by Ecuador and Colombia in July 2004.
Dairy Partners Americas, which incorporates a milk procurement and milk powder and ingredient manufacturing business and a chilled and liquid dairy product business, now claims to be the largest dairy in South America.
It claims to processes around 3bn litres of milk each year at its 15 manufacturing sites across the region.