Thirty of the Brightwater Fonterra team will be impacted by a shock decision

Thirty employees will be impacted by the closure of the Brightwater plant on Factory St., Brightwater. Photo R Therkleson

Fonterra to close Brightwater milk powder plant

Fonterra has today announced it will be closing the milk powder plant at its Brightwater site 10km south of Richmond, Tasman in April 2023.

However, milk collection and associated activities will continue at Brightwater as Fonterra moves its milk transfer activities there from Tuamarina, Marlborurough.

Brightwater with a population of 2250 residents at the 2020 census can ill afford to loose any workers. It is a thriving little town on the Waimea plains servicing local farmers, horticulture, viticulture, and the local community.

Brightwater central shopping centre Photo R Therkleson

Thirty employees will be impacted by the closure of the milk powder plant and Mr Whineray says the priority right now is supporting them.

“It’s no doubt tough news for some of the Brightwater team and we’ll be working with them in the coming months on their future options, including re-deployment opportunities within the Co-op.”

Mr Whineray says he’s proud of the quality and skills the 30 team members have and is confident they’ll be able to secure new roles.

The small ageing plant processes about 0.25% of the Co-operative’s overall milk supply into whole milk powder. Fonterra Chief Operating Officer Fraser Whineray says the move, which will instead see the milk being processed at Fonterra’s Darfield site near Christchurch, is in line with Fonterra’s long-term strategy.

Fonterra Chief Operating Officer Fraser Whineray  Photo Fonterra

“We know milk supply is declining over time, flat at best, so we need to make sure we’re getting the most out of every drop of milk and optimising our plants to match both consumer demand and available milk supply." 

“Part of our long-term strategy is to direct more milk into our Foodservice and Consumer business, less into Ingredients, and in some cases, to divert product away from the Global Dairy Trade auctions. This, along with forecast capital and maintenance costs, means we’ve made the tough decision to close our milk powder plant at Brightwater." 

“We’re continually working to ensure our assets across the country are as efficient as they can be, changing product mixes, and moving more milk into value-add products” says Fraser Whineray.

Fonterra Factory on Factory Rd., Brightwater Tasman Photo R Therkleson

Comments:-

-Sad news, I was factory manager for 11 years from1975. The plant is suitable for small runs of specialty product. Hope someone can use it again for that purpose.

-That’s sad for the workers down there.

Thanks for your comments. Ray editor

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