Major water saving project at Darnum Park
AUSTRALIA - Fonterra has announced a $1.23 million water saving project for its Darnum Park dairy manufacturing site in Gippsland, Victoria supported by a grant from the Victorian Government’s Regional Infrastructure Development Fund.
Bruce Donnison, Managing Director Fonterra Ingredients Australia, said the water saving project will involve a number of initiatives designed to recover and recycle water at various stages of the dairy manufacturing process. Investments will also be made to improve water use efficiency at the site.
“In total, the range of initiatives is expected to save around 550,000 litres of water per day or around 150 megalitres annually,” he said.
“This major water project is a clear example of our commitment to environmental sustainability in our operations,” said Mr Donnison.
Darnum Park produces value-added milk powders that are the key ingredients in products such as infant formula. These value-added powders are sold to leading food and nutrition companies in Australia and a range of export markets in South East Asia.
“The water saving project will also allow full production capacity to be reached at Darnum Park given our recent successful upgrade of the facility,” said Mr Donnison.
Fonterra recently completed a $40 million upgrade of the Darnum Park site to create the capacity to produce 60,000 tonnes annually of dairy products at the site. Darnum Park now employs more than 170 people in Gippsland and supports around 340 dairy farmers who supply milk to the site.
Approximately one third of the funding for the $1.23 water saving project will come from a grant under the Regional Infrastructure Development Fund, administered by Regional Development Victoria, which has been established to improve the competitive capacity of regional Victoria and enhance economic development. Fonterra’s application to the Fund was supported by Baw Baw Shire Council and Gippsland Water.
The Minister for Regional and Rural Development, the Hon. Jacinta Allan MP, visited Darnum Park today to tour the site and announce the grant.
