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Dairy Farmers

Type	Co-operative
Founded	January 15, 1900 (1900-01-15)
Headquarters	Homebush Bay, New South Wales
Area served	Australia
Key people	Ian Langdon, Chairman Rob Gordon, CEO
Industry	Food
Products	Dairy
Revenue	▲ A$1,310 million (2008)
Operating income	▲ A$71 million (2008)
Profit	▲ A$13.7 million (2008)
Employees	~1,800
Divisions	Australian Co-operative Foods Limited
Website	www.dairyfarmers.com.au

Dairy Farmers is one of the largest and oldest dairy manufacturers in Australia, established in 1900, supplying products to local and international markets such as eastern Europe, the Middle East and Asia. Kirin Holdings Company, Limited of Japan is in the process of acquiring the co-operative through its Australian subsidiary National Foods,^[1] subject to a number of conditions, and shareholder and Court approvals.^[2]

History

On January 15, 1900 (1900-01-15), the Dairy Farmers Co-operative Milk Co. Limited was created by 65 stakeholders, most being dairy farmers in the Illawarra region of New South Wales. The aim of the co-op was to market their milk and butter products effectively to city customers.^[3]

After 107 years of Dairy Farmers being 100% Australian owned by Australian dairy farmers, with 11 processing facilities in the country the company is now foreignly owned. It is now owned by National Foods Limited, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Kirin Holdings (Australia) Pty Ltd, which is part of the Kirin Group of Japan.^[4]

In 2005, Dairy Farmers came third in dairy sales, with Norco Co-operative second and National Foods with their brand Pura coming first.

Brands

Dairy Farmers markets a number of brands, among them cheeses such as COON; a selection of milk varieties, sold under the main brand; and flavoured milks branded as OAK and Moove. These products are produced at 12 major factories in Australia.

Company milestones

• 1900 – Company established (The Dairy Farmers Co-operative Milk Co. Limited)
• 1935 – Established first bottling plant in Sydney
• Mid-1960s – Began producing cottage cheese and flavored yogurts
• 1977 – Invested in Ultra High Temperature (UHT) production
• 1989 – Acquisitions and mergers saw the formation of, Australian Co-operative Foods (ACF), to be known as Dairy Farmers
• 1997 – Acquired the COON, Mil Lel and Fred Walker cheese brands, and the licence for the Cracker Barrel brand. Merged with Malanda Dairy Foods and integrated the Dairy Vale business
• 2005 – Restructured and refocused the company. Separated the FMCG business from the milk supply co-operative
• 2008 – Planned acquisition by food and beverage company National Foods Limited

External links

• Dairy Farmers

References