The upgrade at the Susumas site, at the Subang Hi-Tech Industrial Park, just outside of the capital Kuala Lumpur, will allow the plant to blend and pack around 30,000 metric tonnes of milk powder products a year.
The Susumas plant, built in 1992, blends and packs milk powder products for consumer brands including Anlene, Anmum (Materna, Lacta, Essential), and Fernleaf.
Managing director of Fonterra Brands Malaysia and Singapore, Jose Miguel Porraz Lando, said the reopened facility means Fonterra is better placed to meet the growing demand for dairy in Malaysia and 13 other countries in Southeast Asia and the Middle East where the site exports dairy products.
Contributions to Malaysia
New Zealand’s Minister for Māori Development and Associate Minister for Economic Development, Te Ururoa Flavell, who is in Malaysia for a business and cultural mission, said Fonterra has a 40-year presence in Malaysia, and is an example of a New Zealand business using Malaysia as a regional hub.
Malaysia’s Deputy Minister of International Trade and Industry Yang Berhormat Datuk Haji Ahmad bin Haji Maslan noted over the last six years, Fonterra has invested close to NZ$20m (US$13.8m) in improvements across its two manufacturing sites, contributing to Malaysia’s overall manufacturing infrastructure and capabilities.
Fonterra’s other Malaysian site, Dairymas, employs 220 people, and processes around 10,000 metric tonnes of liquid dairy per year, turning it into CalciYum yogurts and milk drinks, Solivite milk drink and Anlene yogurts.
The facility was built in 1999 to produce yogurt and UHT dairy products.
Fonterra has more than 700 staff in the two Malaysian sites, a corporate office and a global shared services center.