15 October 2007 - Nutritek, a manufacturer of dairy products and baby food, opened a dairy processing plant in New Zealand on October 11, the company announced.
The group, one of Russia’s three largest milk producers, is the first - and only - foreign investor on the New Zealand dairy market.
Nutritek spent a total USD 60 million on the project, which included buying a 5.6% stake in New Zealand Dairies Ltd and upgrading a factory in the Canterbury region, doubling its original capacity.
The plant will now be able to process 120,000 tons of milk and to produce 18,000 tons of powdered milk a year. Nutritek already produces 20,000 tons of powdered milk per year in its Russia and Ukraine factories.
The move was prompted by a shortage of milk and a predicted slow-down in demand for Nutritek products in Russia. Nutritek also plans to use its position in New Zealand to increase its share of the Chinese baby food market to 3% by 2010, the company said. Products from the New Zealand plant will be supplied to two baby food factories the group is building in China.
Nutritek isn’t the only Russian dairy company to be eyeing overseas expansion. As reported on FLEXNEWS on October 12, Wimm-Bill Dann is currently considering the possibility of investing in production facilities in China, the US and Eastern Europe.