New Zealand-based multinational dairy co-operative Fonterra and Dutch firm A-ware Food have announced a partnership to set up a new cheese facility and dairy ingredients plant in Heerenveen, Netherlands.
Fonterra chief executive officer Theo Spierings and A-ware Food chief executive officer Jan Anker signed a final agreement and confirmed the partnership.
Under the deal, a greenfields site will be developed, where A-ware will operate a cheese plant and Fonterra will operate a dairy ingredients facility alongside it.
The cheese produced will cater to the A-ware's customers in Europe, while Whey and lactose will be processed into premium nutrition dairy ingredients for Fonterra's customers across the globe.
Construction of both the facilities is scheduled to be completed in late 2014.
Theo Spierings said that the investment fitted well with the strategic priorities of both companies.
"Fonterra has substantial intellectual property in the manufacture of functional whey protein ingredients and has been looking for some time for a source of high quality whey to enable it to commercialise these innovations for customers around the world," Spierings added.
Jan Anker said that the partnership would build on A-ware's reputation as a significant provider of premium cheese in Europe with a strong network.
"A-ware is well placed to integrate the new cheese plant into its supply chain so it can expand its service offering with increased flexibility for a growing customer base in Europe," Anker added.
In February, Fonterra announced plans to invest more than $100m in a new ultra-high temperature (UHT) milk processing plant at its Waitoa site in Waikato, as part of its efforts to cater to the growing demand for UHT products in Asia.
It also announced a five-point plan which gives its farmer shareholders more flexibility in managing their farm businesses in order to support and grow milk production.
