Synlait’s Milk Supply Chief Reports Recovery Progress
David Williams joined Synlait Milk in 2008, when the processor began operating on a greenfield site in Mid Canterbury. After four years in Fonterra’s milk-supply division, he became Synlait’s first milk-procurement officer and helped recruit the company’s initial 60 supplying farms. The supplier base later exceeded 200 farms during Synlait’s national expansion.
Williams is now Synlait’s General Manager of Milk Supply and Sustainability and a member of its executive leadership team. His 28-person division manages relationships with almost 200 independent farmers, leads the company’s sustainability programmes and operates two commercial dairy farms. Those activities support Synlait’s requirements for specific milk volumes and compositions used in export manufacturing.
The Dunsandel complex in Canterbury employs about 850 people. It now houses Synlait’s core nutritional and ingredient manufacturing after the company withdrew from processing operations in the North Island. Synlait recently sold its Pokeno and Auckland processing assets to Abbott Laboratories as part of that restructuring.
Williams said Synlait was making steady operational progress towards its financial position before the pandemic. The company’s earlier North Island expansion had placed pressure on its finances, and the subsequent consolidation reduced the group’s operating footprint. Synlait has focused its remaining manufacturing base on products including pediatric nutrition, lactoferrin and specialised foodservice lines.
Dairyworks, Synlait’s consumer-foods subsidiary, operates alongside the Dunsandel site and has continued to produce strong commercial results in retail cheese and butter. The subsidiary’s performance is part of Synlait’s current business structure, together with its South Island processing operations.
Synlait’s relationship with farmers includes the Lead With Pride assurance programme. The scheme provides direct financial premiums for verified performance above baseline industry standards in environmental management, animal health and welfare, milk quality and social responsibility. Williams said the programme helped attract Canterbury suppliers and that other New Zealand processors later introduced comparable incentive arrangements.
For the 2026/27 production cycle, the company is concentrating on operating the streamlined Dunsandel hub, maintaining supplier relationships and preserving its sustainability and milk-premium programmes. Williams said the immediate focus was on returning Synlait to its position before Covid-19 and that progress had been made towards that objective.
