27 May 2009 - The Dutch FrieslandCampina Domo and the Australian Warrnambool Cheese & Butter Factory today officially opened the Great Ocean Ingredients plant in Allansford, Australia. Great Ocean Ingredients is a 50/50 joint venture between the two companies.
The construction of the new plant means that FrieslandCampina Domo can continue to meet the growing demand for prebiotic galacto-oligosaccharides. These are marketed under the brand name Vivinal® GOS and used in infant nutrition, dairy products and drinks.
The opening of the new plant was attended by the Australian Minister for Regional and Rural Development for Victoria, the Dutch Honorary Consul, representatives of the Executive Board of FrieslandCampina and Warrnambool Cheese & Butter Factory (WCB) and the local business community.
FrieslandCampina’s total investment is EUR 18.5 million. The production capacity of Great Ocean Ingredients is 15,000 MT of Vivinal GOS. Great Ocean Ingredients will provide work for 25 people.
The joint venture started in July 2007. The new plant will process raw materials from Warrnambool Cheese & Butter Factory, whose plant is situated next to the new Great Oceans Ingredients plant, into nutritional and functional ingredients, such as Vivinal GOS. The new facility will use new, innovative technologies based on expertise in the production of high-quality FrieslandCampina ingredients. FrieslandCampina Domo markets the ingredients from Australia to customers in the infant nutrition and the food industry, primarily in South-East Asia, China and the USA.
“We are really pleased with this new plant, which allows us to continue to meet the growing demand for the prebiotic ingredient, Vivinal GOS. It also means we can offer our customers better stock guarantees with two production facilities for Vivinal GOS”, explains Roelof Joosten, Managing Director of FrieslandCampina Domo. “The new factory underlines FrieslandCampina Domo’s strategy to reinforce its position as a global player in valueadded products.”
“Great Ocean Ingredients is ideally aligned with WCB’s growth strategy,” said WCB’s Chairman Frank Davis. “Utilising WCB’s raw materials, Great Ocean Ingredients will further value-add to the whey stream from the existing manufacturing process at our plant to create a cutting edge, high-value product for export.”
Vivinal GOS is a prebiotic ingredient, rich in galacto-oligosaccharides that have a positive effect on gut flora. The so-called prebiotic effect also has a favourable impact on the immune system. Vivinal GOS has GRAS (Generally Recognised as Safe) recognition for use in such areas as infant nutrition, dairy products and drinks.
Warrnambool Cheese & Butter Factory is one of Australia’s largest milk processing companies and the only dairy company listed on the Australian Stock Exchange.
Warrnambool Cheese & Butter Factory, which was founded in 1888, sources its milk from some of the most productive dairy regions in Australia. Warrnambool Cheese & Butter Factory produces high-quality dairy products, such as cheese, butter, fresh milk, milk powders, whey-protein concentrates and cream for clients in domestic and export markets.