Big spray dryer key for value | Rural

New Zealand's first and only independent product development spray dryer is one step closer to being open for business.

The 10.5m-high stainless steel dryer, weighing 7.5 tonne has been lifted into the new pilot plant on Hamilton's Waikato Innovation Park campus.

The $11 million product development spray dryer facility, primarily funded by Innovation Waikato is the Waikato component of the government-sponsored New Zealand Food Innovation Network. Capacity of the multi-purpose spray dryer is half a tonne an hour.

Construction will be completed in April, with the first product run scheduled for mid-May.

"We're now looking for commitments from companies that want to research and develop new spray-dried food products in the pilot plant. Our message out to the market is that we're open for business and we want to help companies create new products and reach new export markets," says Derek Fairweather, CEO of the Waikato Innovation Park.

"We believe this dryer facility is a key mechanism for moving the dairy industry from a focus on commodities to value-added production."

Fairweather says there is huge potential, especially for specialty milk producers.

The Dairy Goat Co-operative has already committed to using 40 per cent of the plant's capacity. The company's commitment was a critical factor in creating the commercial case, and gaining government funding and approval to build the plant as a true Private Public Partnership.

The co-operative's CEO, Dave Stanley, says the dryer facility will help the company bring on extra capacity to meet expansion requirements.

"We're going through a major growth phase at Dairy Goat Co-operative and intend to install a second dryer on our Hamilton processing site within the next few years. Using the new dryer at Waikato Innovation Park to produce our goat milk powders has provided us with the perfect bridge."

Finance for the dryer came from Innovation Waikato debt and a government grant of $3.95 million.