Mengniu Arla starts milk-powder plant construction

Arla Foods’ joint venture company in China Mengniu Arla is looking to quadruple its production company with the construction of a $40 million milk-powder plant in Hohhot, Inner Mongolia. The plant, which is located next the current production plant will boost capacity from 8,000 to 30,000 tons.

The company says it is racing against time to ensure that the factory is commissioned in time for the summer of 2008. Extremely cold winters are a factor here, that could potentially hamper construction efforts.

"The new plant will be of a very high technological standard along the same lines as Arinco in Denmark and Vimmerby in Sweden. Our big challenge now is to keep to the timetable. Bearing in mind the extremely cold winters, the building itself must be completed before November," says Ulrik Sletten, Mengniu Arla's Production Director.