Westland Milk Products is to invest $70 million to expand its manufacturing of dairy protein lactoferrin.
Chinese-owned Westland will treble production of the protein at its Hokitika factory and in the process become one of the top producers in the world.
The investment is the second major spend for Westland since Yili, the world’s number five dairy company, rescued the debt-laden Westland in mid-2019.
Westland chief executive Richard Wyeth said the new plant and expansion fitted its plan to focus on high-value consumer goods and specialised ingredients from its milk supply.