Mead Johnson Nutrition (MJN) will co-locate a packaging plant with the nutritional powders plant dairy company Murray Goulburn (MG) plans to build in Victoria.
MG has forged long-term supply agreements with global paediatric nutrition company and Indonesia’s largest publicly listed healthcare company Kalbe Nutritionals, and will invest $260-$300 million in the facility at Koroit in western Victoria.
It is hoped Mead Johnson's nutritional packaging plant will supply the Asia Pacific region, specifically the Chinese market.
MG’s latest move is part of its strategy to shift to more stable and higher value added dairy foods, according to the company.
The plant will be delivered in two stages, with the initial installation of a 45,000 tonnes per annum dryer that will be increased to up to 90,000 tonnes per annum as market demand increases. MG expects the first phase of the plant to be operational in early 2019.
MG said that when combined with its existing 18,000 tonnes per annum drying and canning nutritional powders plant in Cobram, the investment will create a sector-leading infant nutrition hub in Victoria, from which MG can supply its global nutritional customers and the company’s own Devondale Natra Start infant formula to key markets.
“MG will now move forward with the plans to construct the nutritional powders plant at Koroit to initially provide a further 45,000 tonnes of capacity,” MG managing director Gary Helou said.
“This will be utilised to supply infant formula under our own new brand, Devondale Natra Start, as well as our partners’ market-leading brands.
Importantly, we have refined our plans to add a further 45,000 tonnes of capacity at the site given the encouragement we have received from our partners, and the very strong growth in demand we are seeing for Australian-made product.”
