Fonterra breaks ground on its biggest SE Asia site
The new blending and packing plant in West Java, Indonesia, is being built to support the company’s consumer brands Anlene, Anmum and Anchor Boneeto.
Located in West Java, the plant is Fonterra’s first manufacturing facility in the country and, at a cost of NZ$36m (US$31m), is its largest investment in a new manufacturing facility in ASEAN in the last 10 years.
Growing demand
Pascal De Petrini, Fonterra’s regional managing director, said the plant will help meet Indonesia’s fast-growing dairy market.
“Demand for dairy in Indonesia is expected to grow by around 5% each year to 2020, and our investment in this facility will help support this growth,” said De Petrini.
“[This] investment will support the local expansion of Fonterra’s consumer brands, and increase our on-ground capabilities which are critical to the long-term growth of our business.”
The plant is expected to be operational by March 2015, and will create at least 150 full-time positions in the Cikarang and wider Bekasi Regency areas, where it is based.
Once complete, it will have the capacity to pack and blend 12,000 tonnes of advanced and base nutrition milk powder products annually, which is the equivalent to about 87,000 packs of Anlene, Anmum, and Anchor Boneeto every day.
Paul Richards, president director of Fonterra Brands Indonesia, said that as well as the financial investment, the facility will bring Fonterra’s design standards, knowledge, expertise and technology from New Zealand to Indonesia.
“It will also provide local staff with training and development opportunities in advanced food safety, quality and operational standards,” he said.
Important market
Indonesia has been an important section of New Zealand’s global dairy trade for more than 30 years, when it began selling bulk dairy ingredients to Indonesian companies.
Currently, Indonesians consume 11 litres of milk per capita, which is well below the average consumption of neighbouring nations like Singapore, where consumption is 51 litres per capita.
Fonterra Brands Indonesia is amongst the fastest growing companies within Fonterra, and is one of the largest contributors to its Asian business. The company has 194 staff working with distribution and retail partners to make dairy products available in more than 60,000 Indonesian outlets.
