GEA Process Engineering has been awarded a €40 million project to build a 15 t/hr whole milk powder plant for Fonterra in New Zealand. The project, known as the Darfield project, is due to be commissioned in August 2012 and will be undertaken by GEA Process Engineering New Zealand. The customer, Fonterra is a world leading exporter of dairy products processing 90 % of New Zealand's milk production and a major player in international dairy trade. The Darfield project is the largest project ever undertaken by GEA Process Engineering New Zealand. The project will be similar in capacity to three plants previously built by GEA for Fonterra. The scope for the Darfield project, which utilizes only GEA technology, covers milk reception, standardisation, evaporation, drying, powder transport and packing. In addition, the order includes the construction of the building that will house the plant. The plant is the sixth greenfield plant that GEA Process Engineering has supplied in New Zealand over the past four years. Fonterra's tender process encouraged the suppliers to draw on Fonterra's considerable experience as well as their own. "This allows the synergies arising from both parties to be combined to build on the state-of-the-art technology supplied by GEA," says David Bower, Managing Director of GEA Process Engineering New Zealand. The driver for the new plant capacity is increased milk production in the South Island of New Zealand, which has been expanding at 8% pa due to conversions from other land uses and improved productivity from current farms, which Fonterra is obligated to handle. The end products of the new plant, will service the growing markets in Asia, where the demand for milk powder products is rising. Further information For further information please contact Managing Director for GEA Process Engineering New Zealand, David Bower, direct nr.: +64-9-5263344. Further editorial information from Steve Jordan The Words Workshop Ltd Tel: +44 1908 695500 Email: steve@thewordsworkshop.co.uk About GEA Process Engineering GEA Process Engineering develops, designs, and markets production plant equipment and processes for the dairy, brewery, food, pharmaceutical and chemical industries. With sales close to EUR 1.3 billion in 2010 and 4,600 employees working in more than 40 countries, GEA Process Engineering is recognized as a world leader within liquid processing, concentration, industrial drying, powder processing & handling, emission control, solid dosage forms & sterile products, and aseptic packaging. GEA Process Engineering is a business segment of GEA Group, headquartered in Germany. For further information visit www.geap.com About Fonterra Fonterra is a global leader in dairy nutrition – the preferred supplier of dairy ingredients to many of the world's leading food companies. Fonterra is also a market leader with our own consumer dairy brands in Australia/New Zealand, Asia/Africa, Middle East and Latin America. The farmer-owned New Zealand co-operative is the largest processor of milk in the world, producing more than two million tonnes of dairy ingredients, value added dairy ingredients, specialty ingredients and consumer products every year. Drawing on generations of dairy expertise, Fonterra is one of the largest investors in dairy based research and innovation in the world. Our 16,000 staff work across the dairy spectrum from advising farmers on sustainable farming and milk production, to ensuring we live up to exacting quality standards and delivering every day on our customer promise in more than 100 markets around the world. For further information www.fonterra.com