A massive $150 million cool store construction project due to start in South Taranaki next month has been welcomed by mayor Phil Nixon as a timely shot in the arm for the district.

Fonterra announced this week it would build the new cool store, big enough to keep the equivalent of 26,000,0000 1kg blocks of cheddar cold, at it’s Whareroa Plant, just outside of Hāwera.

Construction of the cool store — essentially a very large fridge — would be spread over three years and employ up to 150 extra people at the peak of the project.

One of the biggest milk processing plants in the world, the facility processes up to 12.5 million litres of milk a day during peak season.
Fonterra / Supplied

Nixon said it had been a hard couple of years in the dairy farming sector, which in region’s like South Taranaki made it a hard couple of years for everyone.

“That $150m, that’s a huge spend. It’s really good news and it’s got to be good for the region,” Nixon said.

South Taranaki mayor Phil Nixon says it’s been a tough couple of years for the district. (File photo)
Supplied

He said with the dairy payout on the up and interest rates coming down, the region was looking forward to better days and the new project would help instil confidence for the future.

The new cool store, which will be the size of three rugby fields, will be built on the footprint of the plant’s current cool store.

However, it will have greater capacity, and will be big enough to store around 26,000 tonnes of cheese, 5000 more tonnes than the current capacity.

Scott Nelson, the general manager of Fonterra operations in the Lower North Island, said the decision was a sign of confidence in the region and the future of dairy.

“It’s going to be spread over three years, done in two stages so we can continue manufacture,” he said.

“And so that means that we will have an ongoing impact into local business, whether it’s direct through contractors coming in or services or accommodation and those kinds of things as well.”

The Whareroa plant processes up to 12.5 million litres of milk per day, the equivalent of five Olympic swimming pools, and is one of the largest milk processing plants in the world.

It employs more than 1000 people across 11 plants. Nelson said many of those who worked there were from the same families across multiple generations.

It makes such products as mozzarella, cheddar cheese, butter, whole milk powder and lactic casein. Just under a third of all the cheese produced by Fonterra in New Zealand comes from the Whareroa plant.

The $150m decision follows recent announcements by Fonterra of a $75m protein plant at their Studholme site in South Canterbury and a $150m UHT cream plant in Southland.

Nelson said the staged approach to the Whareroa cool store project would enable the plant to continue operating at full capacity for the duration of the construction period.

Fonterra chief operating officer Anna Palairet said the new cool store was strategically important and would play a crucial role in the resilience of the co-op’s supply chain.

“The Taranaki region is dairy heartland and I’m delighted we’re able to make this significant investment into shoring up our operations at this site, which is one of the largest in our network,” she said.