28 | Farmer relationship critical Powder packing line at Clanedboye. T T from page 26 South Canterbury: Fonterra - Clandeboye REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT Dynes Transport are proud to be associated with Fonterra Dunedin Office: 24 Donald Street, Kaikorai Valley; 03 478 8018 www.dynes.co.nz Industrial Controls are proud to support Fonterra - Clandeboye “We have now started to expand a more complex range of functional milk powders that are more suited to our customers’ needs. Again, this is innovative use of technology to improve certain functional aspects of whey protein concentrate and milk protein concentrate. “For example, if it is to go into a drink like tea, the solubility needs to be perfect, so that it doesn’t cause lumps and has a smooth flavour profile. A lot of our emerging markets don’t have the ability to store or purchase fresh milk, and are heavily reliant on whole milk powders. Because of our assets and onhouse subject matter experts a lot of these innovative processes and techniques are being trialled at Clandeboye.” As Ross observes, the farmer relationship is critical to the success of Fonterra as an organisation and Clandeboye as a local milk processor. “The whole Fonterra strategy is fed through its farmer shareholders. It is about providing a good payout for our farmers, but what has come to the front more and more over the last few years is sustainability. For us it’s about enabling our farmers and their families to thrive for generations through sustainable dairy practices, because without them we wouldn’t be here.” Ross says that as a co-operative, Fonterra has a number of initiatives and resources to support the farmers’ innovative thinking, help them meet new legislation, keep ahead of the game and be successful. But he acknowledges that sustainability is equally around improving Fonterra’s environmental impact from its manufacturing operations. While currently using coal in the majority of its boilers to provide steam for processes, Fonterra has committed to getting out of coal by 2037. “We have five boilers that all run coal at Clandeboye, and we are currently progressing with a number of projects looking at alternative fuel sources including woodchip bio-mass fuels. Fonterra has also recently partnered with MAN Energy Solutions New Zealand, who are innovative in their steam heat pump space, a fairly new technology at the scale we use energy.” Employing in excess of 1000 staff across manufacturing, transport, distribution and maintenance, Fonterra’s Clandeboye plant is one of the major employers in the South Canterbury region, providing a diversity of career options, and an invaluable contributor to the greater South Canterbury community. Offering dairy apprenticeships to school leavers, successful candidates go straight into an operator role, spending time in the various processing departments to gain a general understanding of dairy processing before qualifying. They will also complete NZQA Level 3 & 4 in dairy processing. In addition, mechanical and electrical apprenticeships are available. Clandeboye is also home to Fonterra’s South Island laboratory team and Ross says well over a million different product release, sensory, and microbiological tests are done each year on Fonterra’s products from all over the South Island. “We have roles for laboratory staff that go from novices, all the way through to people with degrees in microbiology. Many of our process technologists have come from engineering backgrounds. So, we have roles for very clever and qualified people, and roles where people can work from the ground up into leadership roles, and don’t require any previous qualifications — just a good work ethic.” Looking to the future, Ross agrees that bringing new blood into the business is critical for ongoing success and says the new generation bring skill sets very different from previous generations, especially in the use of technology and the way technology is embraced. “Having those skills on board, listening to them and understanding how they operate is pretty critical to our long-term success. The workforce is going to be more and more focused in that direction.” Workplace culture is another key area of focus for Ross and the Clandeboye leadership team, with the challenge of cultivating a common culture amongst the various aspects of the business, and the complexity that comes with a team of 1000 hardworking individuals. “We have done some really good work on that over the last twelve months, which is an on-going focus area. “ It is important that people understand the part they play not only in their own department, but how we all work together as one site to achieve the best result for our farmer shareholders. “We have such a broad range of people, which is really fantastic, because there is just so much experience and diversity of thinking. But it is about harnessing all that positive energy into the same goal.” “For us it’s about enabling our farmers and their families to thrive for generations through sustainable dairy practices, because without them we wouldn’t be here.”
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