Fonterra plans to shut its Hamilton canning and packaging facility, where about 120 people currently work.
The Canpac site on Foreman Rd blends and packages milk powders and will close at the end of July, the dairy co-op said.
This “follows the Co-operative’s decision to focus on higher value ingredients such as advanced proteins and medical nutrition”.
Low product volumes and increasing production complexities have made it economically challenging for the facility, Fonterra’s chief operating officer Anna Palairet said.
“It’s been a tough day for all the team at the site. Making decisions like this is never easy.”
There will be a consultation process which includes looking at possible redeployment opportunities before the planned end date of operations: 31 July 2025.
“Our strategy is about creating end-to-end value and growing total returns for our farmer shareholders,” Palairet said.
“We believe the best way to achieve this is to focus on our strengths and scale in ingredients and food service, and we are prioritising our investment on the parts of our operations that are better suited to this.”
The site currently packs up to 4000 metric ton of powders per year, less than one per cent of the Co-op’s total product volume.
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