Fresh from completing the transaction which has given Chinese company Bright Dairy and Food a 51% stake in the company's processing business, Synlait Milk, the company has announced construction of its second powder plant is 30% completed.
Synlait Milk chief executive John Penno said the new powder drier would produce 10.5 tonnes of whole milk powder or eight tonnes of infant formula each day.
Mr Penno said Bright Dairy's $82 million investment was already paying dividends, giving it access to markets on China's eastern seaboard.
Bright Dairy owns 210 farms in China and sources milk from another 500. It also owns 23 processing factories.
Synlait says that as well as a cash injection, Bright Dairy would help it develop its value-added strategy, provide access to markets and distribution channels in China, including daily deliveries of dairy products to 2 million homes.
"We believe this is the beginning of a partnership that will enable Synlait to further develop its strategy of supplying consumer packaged high value specialist milk powders, including infant formula and other functional products," Mr Penno said.
"We are already having discussions with a range of other potential customers for these products."
