PR97174

HOKITIKA, New Zealand, July 25, 2022 /PRNewswire=KYODO JBN/ --

On July 19, Yili Group officially opened its new butter plant at Westland Milk

Products in Hokitika, West Coast, New Zealand. The opening coincided with

celebrations to mark the third anniversary of Westland joining the Yili Group.

With the upgrade now complete, Westland Milk Products' new butter plant has

doubled the capacity of its consumer and foodservice butter facility at

Westland's Hokitika factory to reach up to 42,000 tonnes a year, making it the

largest butter plant on the west coast of New Zealand.  

New Zealand Trade and Agriculture Minister, the Hon. Damien O'Connor, was

invited to the event, where he commemorated the investment that the butter

plant represents for the future of the dairy industry on the West Coast.

In a pre-recorded speech at the event at Hokitika, Pan Gang, Chairman and

President of Yili Group, said "Since joining Yili Group, Westland has gained

increasing consumer recognition. Westland is dedicated to continuing creating

more value for consumers, society and employees in the future."

Yili Project Goldrush, an investment plan, was launched last year to upgrade

the production system and increase its capacity. The project aims to give more

global consumers a taste for Westgold, one of New Zealand's most highly awarded

butter brands.

Addressing the opening, Westland CEO Richard Wyeth said, "The original butter

plant built in 1973 has now made way for a purpose-built facility that allows

us to double our capacity of small-format butter pats with modern,

state-of-the-art machinery that still holds true to our traditional churn

methods." Mr. Wyeth also expressed his appreciation for the collaborative

efforts of employees, suppliers, and partners. The first half of 2022 saw the

company's strongest first-half-year result in the past seven years. Westgold

butters are available in over 20 countries worldwide, including New Zealand,

China, Australia, the United States and Japan.

As one of the world's top five dairy companies and Asia's largest player in the

industry, Yili commits to building a mutually beneficial global network of

resources, innovation, and markets. Yili currently has 15 R&D and innovation

centers and 74 production bases. To achieve the company's dream of "World

Integrally Sharing Health", Yili has kept evolving to meet the nutritional

needs of various groups of people across the world.

SOURCE: Yili Group

Image Attachments Links:

   Link: http://asianetnews.net/view-attachment?attach-id=426185　

   Caption: Damien O’Connor attended the ribbon-cutting ceremony to celebrate the new

butter plant

   Link: http://asianetnews.net/view-attachment?attach-id=426187　

   Caption: Westland’s Hokitika factory