Tai Tapu lifts dairy output

Press, 8 February 1985, Page 23

Tai Tapu lifts dairy output

The Tai Tapu Dairy Company is continuing to expand output of a number of basic dairy products, creating opportunities for more new dairy farmers in Canterbury, according to the general manager, Mr'Geoff Joyce. Mr Joyce said he wanted to dispel some of the gloom which appeared to surround the national and international dairy industries at present. In recent weeks the revitalised dairy manufacturer has participated in a big export order for patted butter, begun production of “old-fashioned” rinder cheese for export, begun production of Cloverlea ice cream for a sister company and sought indicative tenders for a new skim milk powder factory for Christchurch. “We are still looking for new suppliers,” Mr Joyce said. “Dairying is expanding in Canterbury and the companies are making sure that they can handle the increased milk and cream.” Tai Tapu and the Temuka Co-op Dairy Co. have agreed that Cloverlea ice cream should be made in the Addington Road, Christchurch plant of Tai Tapu.

Cloverlea the brand name owned by Temuka, will be made and kept separate from the Tai Tapu line of New American ice cream. Temuka will still market and distribute Cloverlea.

Tai Tapu installed a new ice cream plant, separate to its Ammix butter plant for the launch of New American in August 1983. That ice cream has sold very well, said Mr Joyce, and he cited increases in consumption nationally of 2 litres per person to 19 litres each year.

The surpluses of cream left after cheese manufacture had increased dramatically in recent years, said the general manager of Temuka, Mr Kevin Mulcahy. Output from the company’s suppliers had increased three times in four years.

What was a handy production of ice cream in the Cloverlea Washdyke plant from the cream surpluses could now not cope with the volumes left after the greatly increased production of Cheddar and parmesan cheese, he said. Now all surpluses were to be sold to Tai Tapu while the marketing and distribution of Cloverlea ice cream was retained by Temuka.

The small staff at Washdyke had been offered employment either at Tai Tapu or elsewhere in the Temuka company. Mr Mulcahy said the distribution of Cloverlea from a Christchurch base, using dual temperature vans for cheese and ice cream, would continue as before. Cloverlea is sold all over the South Island except Southland. The addition of the Cloverlea business has lifted the ice cream throughput at Tai Tapu by 50 per cent, said Mr Joyce. Tai Tapu is now also producing export butter in big volumes for the first time in many years. It is one of only a few companies in New Zealand with a capacity for patted butter the demand for which appears to be rising overseas.

Canterbury is not selfsufficient in butter and bulk butter is brought in for remixing and packaging. Tai Tapu will bring in 3000 tonnes, over the year June 1984, to May 1985 to add to the local production and satisfy the local consumption of 4000 tonnes plus the export orders. The export butter is mostly going to the Middle East under their own brands

but in the middle of this year Mr Joyce expects to be packing Arabic Anchor butter for the big Algerian order signed recently by the Dairy Board.

“The outlook for butter for Tai Tapu over the next 12 months looks good,” said Mr Joyce. Over the hill at Barrys Bay, Akaroa Harbour, the Settlers Cheese Co. which is now owned by Tai Tapu has begun production of the “old-fashioned” rinder Cheddar. A trial export order of 120 tonnes in 4.5 kg and 36kg “hoops” will be made by Settlers over the next 12 months. The cheese is destined for Australia and the United Kingdom. Rinder Cheddar takes over 12 months to mature and small quantities of the new production will not be available for local and factory sales to the public until 1986.

Production capacity at Barrys Bay is now being well utilised and more staff have been taken on, although Mr Joyce said he found it surprisingly difficult to recruit unskilled people in the area. No milk from the dairy farms on the eastern side of the Hilltop was now coming across to Christchurch but instead everything was

being used at Barrys Bay. In fact milk would have to be taken to Settlers from the Christchurch side of the Hilltop from May, he said. Tai Tapu has called indicative tenders for a new. skim milk plant to replace the Plains Dairy Co., operation at Blenheim Road, which is a joint venture between Tai Tapu and Canterbury Dairy Farmers, Ltd.

A decision on where and when to build the skim milk plant would be taken later in 1985, said Mr Joyce. Tai Tapu bought a commercial site on the corner of Moorhouse Avenue and Deans Avenue, Addington on which the Wrightson NMA retail division now stands, for possible development as a skim milk factory. Mr Joyce said that production from the company’s suppliers was up 28 per cent at the end of December compared with the previous season. However a very dry January has reduced this increase considerably. Another nine large herds had joined the company this season and a further three were starters for next season. Increased production continued to come from the new irrigation areas of the north bank of the, Rakaia River and the Waiau Plains, he said.