New Zealand based Fonterra Co-operative Group has started operating its new dairy ingredients plant in Heerenveen, the Netherlands.
Located on a 25-hectare site, the new facility has been developed to produce whey and lactose specialty ingredients to be used in high-value paediatric, maternal, and sports nutrition products by Fonterra and its customers.
Fonterra chief executive Theo Spierings said: "The commissioning of our new plant in Heerenveen further strengthens our ability to deliver high quality, advanced dairy nutrition that meets the needs of our priority markets and global customers.
"Fonterra has substantial intellectual property in the manufacture of functional whey protein ingredients and had been looking for some time for a source of high quality whey to enable us to commercialise these innovations."
The new facility in Heerenveen, which is Fonterra's first wholly owned and operated ingredients plant in Europe, is a result of the company's partnership with Dutch cheese manufacturer A-ware Food Group.
With this plant, Fonterra will be able to produce 5,000 metric tonnes of whey protein and 25,000 metric tonnes of lactose per year.