Business Daily Media

The Times Real Estate

.

Yili's Subsidiary Westland Milk Products Holds Groundbreaking Ceremony for Lactoferrin Plant in New Zealand

  • Written by PR Newswire

HOKITIKA, New Zealand, May 26, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- On May 23, Yili's subsidiary Westland Milk Products held a groundbreaking ceremony for the construction of its NZD 70 million (USD 42.58 million) lactoferrin plant at Hokitika, New Zealand. The ceremony was attended by New Zealand's Trade, Export and Agriculture Minister and MP for West-Coast Tasman, Damien O'Connor; Director-General of the Ministry for Primary Industries, Ray Smith; Chinese Ambassador to New Zealand, Wang Xiao Long; and Chinese Consul-General in Christchurch, He Ying.

Yili's Subsidiary Westland Milk Products Holds Groundbreaking Ceremony for Lactoferrin Plant in New Zealand Groundbreaking ceremony - Yili’s Subsidiary Westland Milk Products Holds Groundbreaking Ceremony for Lactoferrin Plant in New Zealand

Westland CEO Richard Wyeth welcomed guests and provided them with an overview of the background of the lactoferrin project. Yili Westland's Resident Director, Zhiqiang Li, spoke about the global market advantage that both Westland and Yili would gain from Yili's investment in the new lactoferrin plant.

The investment will enable Yili to rank amongst the top three leading global companies in the lactoferrin category, with a market share of approximately 10 per cent. 

"Today's launch of the lactoferrin program will secure Westland as one of the world's leading producers of highly prized bioactive ingredients," Li told invited guests. "The investment also signals Yili's commitment to take the global lead in the high-value bioactive dairy ingredients sector."

"We were one of the first to market with this highly specialised protein ingredient, and over the past 20 years have established a reputation as a manufacturer of a product of exceptional quality," Wyeth said. "Our bioactive ingredients innovation pipeline is well advanced, and we're excited to be a step closer to bringing these concepts to commercialisation."

Westland Milk Products in Hokitika, New Zealand Westland Milk Products in Hokitika, New Zealand

Lactoferrin, a multifunctional natural protein, offers immune benefits as well as antibacterial and antioxidant functions and is now widely used in food, pharmaceutical products and in other industries. As a consumer-oriented enterprise, Yili has anticipated consumers' needs for products such as lactoferrin and is determined to bring more nutritious and healthy products to global markets. The company has invested considerable resources in R&D to tackle lactoferrin extraction challenges.

Over the years, Yili has successfully developed its own directional lactoferrin extraction and protection technology, which can significantly enhance the quality of protein ingredients and increase extraction efficiency.

According to analysts, lactoferrin is a crucial and scarce resource for the dairy industry. This project is therefore a significant step in Yili's efforts at overcoming core technological barriers, strengthening its global influence, and developing its long-term strategic layout.

The groundbreaking event was also attended by other notable guests, including: Minister-Counsellor of the Chinese Embassy in New Zealand, Chen Zhiyang; First Secretary at the Commercial Section of the Chinese Embassy in New Zealand, Pan Jiansheng; Consul at the Chinese Consulate-General in Christchurch, Xu Li; Vice-Consul at the Chinese Consulate-General in Christchurch, Li Muqing; Director of Industry and Stakeholder Management at MPI, Steve Cunningham; Mayor of Buller, Jamie Cleine; Development West Coast CEO, Heath Milne; and Westland Deputy Mayor, Ashley Cassin.

Read more https://www.prnasia.com/story/archive/4112220_AE12220_0

UNSW startup accelerator offers $200K to the next generation of Australian deeptech unicorns

UNSW Founders, Australia’s most recommended startup accelerator, has partnered with fund manager Luminary Partners to invest $200,000 each into 18...

The Future Is Now: AI Modernization Is Reshaping How Business Gets Done

The present business environment imposes stronger requirements on Australian organizations to match the fast-paced digital-first economy requireme...

Businesses losing an average of $493k from data integrity flaws

Managing data responsibly and effectively for the AI age can give organisations a strong competitive advantage, but many are failing to harness th...

AI shopping disruptor Zyft raises $7.5M to lead the next gen of retail tech

Zyft appoints new CEO, Richard Stevens, to lead the latest Waller Group success story, valued at $30 million SYDNEY, 28 April 2025: Zyft, the lea...

Little known law offers savvy Kiwis the opportunity to supercharge their retirement savings

A little-known legal amendment is being leveraged by savvy New Zealanders and expat Brits to supercharge their retirement savings. Not many peop...

Cutting edge AI technology designed for doctors to reduce patient wait times launched in NZ

New Zealand specialist doctors now have access to Artificial Intelligence technology to help reduce patient wait times and experts say it could be...

Sell by LayBy