A HUNDRED years on, milk is still flowing through the veins of Fonterra’s Stanhope factory and great-tasting dairy still rolls off the line.
The site has truly stood the test of time – it’s changed hands, it expanded, it burnt down, it was rebuilt, and it expanded again.
It’s been a centrepiece in Stanhope for over 100 years, and 300 of Fonterra’s people and farmers, their families and the local community recently came together to celebrate its centenary.
Steve Taylor, who heads up the site, said the state-of-the-art cheese plant plays a key role in Fonterra’s operations in Australia with capacity to produce 80,000 metric tonnes of cheese each year.
“Stanhope is now home to around 180 Fonterra employees, whose expert craft turns the high-quality milk we collect from hundreds of local farmers across northern Victoria into great tasting cheese – including cheddar, parmesan, ricotta, romano, gouda and mozzarella, as well as anhydrous milk fat, ghee, whey and milk powders.
“Stanhope is known as the ‘town of the tastiest cheese’ and it was recently recognised at the International Dairy Awards – taking home the Champion Asia-Australasia Cheese Trophy and a gold medal for Best Mild Cheddar in Australasia,” said Steve.
Stanhope is also home to number one culinary cheese brand in Australia, Perfect Italiano, which is found in almost one in every two Aussie households.
“We’re incredibly proud that Perfect Italiano is made right here in the heart of northern Victoria.
“Not only is this in fridges right across the country, but we also export it to markets including Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Thailand, Philippines and New Zealand,” said Steve.
One thing has remained the same throughout the site’s history, and that is the community which has stood by it every step of the way.
“When we celebrated with a community open day back in June, it was great to hear stories about why this site is so important to the local community here.
“We’re a big employer in this part of Victoria and we collect milk from hundreds of farming families and turn it into great-tasting dairy – so it was great to celebrate,” said Steve.
