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Manuka opens Dairy Training Centre of the South

Manuka opens Dairy Training Center of the South

• The institution will offer to industry workers and the community, teachings related to milk production based on the grazing technique.
• The center aims to become an educational benchmark in Los Lagos Region and throughout southern Chile.

Puerto Octay, March 18th, 2019- With more than 100 attendees, including local and regional authorities, representatives of dairy groups and collaborators, Manuka inaugurated the Dairy Training Center of the South (CCLS), the first Chilean center specialized in dairy production based on the New Zealand grazing system, a proven, profitable and competitive technique, which today allows the company to obtain high quality milk at low cost.

The institution, which has modern facilities located on the same site of the company (Hacienda Coihueco, kilometer 30 of the Osorno-Puerto Octay route), will offer to industry workers and to the community, teachings related to the production of milk based on the grazing technique, milk quality, animal health, agribusiness and human resources, among other specialties, thus, aiming to become an educational benchmark in Los Lagos Region and throughout the south of Chile.

Among the attendees were Sir Henry van der Heyden, Manuka Chairman of the Board; Alberto Eguiguren, company director; Linda Te Puni, New Zealand ambassador in Chile; Mauro González, Los Lagos Seremi of Labor and Social Welfare; María Elena Ojeda, mayor of Puerto Octay; Carlos Silva, rector of the Technical Training Center (CFT) of Los Lagos; Eduardo Schwerter, president of Fedeleche, and Rodrigo Mardones, Manager of Agrollanquihue.

During the inauguration, Sir Henry van der Heyden said that "our vision is to create community, share knowledge and experiences and, for that reason, for Manuka and for me, this is a step forward in the path that began years ago, when we came and we verified what we had here to convert southern Chile into what we believe: a global source of milk production, with natural resources such as land, climate and livestock, even better than those we have in New Zealand."

On the other hand, Cristián Swett, general manager of the company, emphasized that "this center has been created by the workers and for the workers. Training is a key component to make our dairy industry grow and become successful.

Meanwhile, Daniela Winkler, head of the institution, said that the initiative - which has the support of Los Lagos CFT - aims to create value and new opportunities in the dairy industry through knowledge, as well as being a contribution for the employees of the company and other workers of the area.
“Grazing is essential in our productive strategy, we have been developing it successfully in Chile for years and we want to transfer this knowledge to the community, in order to increase the supply of qualified human capital in the industry," explained Daniela Winkler.

Likewise, Eduardo Schwerter, president of Fedeleche, commented that "the CCLS represents a great contribution to the development of the dairy sector and as a representative of the guild, we want to provide all our support for this project to be successful".

CCLS will provide its students with a technical degree endorsed by the Ministry of Education, which will allow its students to have access to new or better jobs.

A permanent commitment
Throughout its history, Manuka has constantly sought to help its employees to develop personally and professionally, enhancing their skills, recognizing their efforts, increasing their experience and providing them with new and updated knowledge.

Each year, the company spends an average of more than 12,000 hours in training and some of its programs include trips to New Zealand, so workers can learn about the virtues of grazing, the technique that has made that country a model to follow in the dairy sector, and turned Manuka in the successful company that it is today.

"Having expertise in the management of pasture is crucial to ensure that milk production is efficient and effective, and doing so in a sustainable manner allows us to improve the attributes and permanent availability of pasture, in addition to reducing costs and our impact on the environment" , detailed Winkler. "This is why we are constantly focusing on updating the knowledge of our collaborators, because we know that in this way they will be able to perform comprehensively in the company and - at the same time - in the entire industry," she added.

The creation of CCLS is part of Manuka's Corporate Social Responsibility initiatives, which seek to contribute with the generation of value through knowledge and increasing the number of expert professionals in the area.

About Manuka
Manuka is the largest producer of milk in Chile and operates in Los Ríos and Los Lagos regions. Its annual production totals between 140 and 150 million liters, about 8% of the total milk nationwide. The company uses the technique of "New Zealand grazing", which is based on the pasture cycle to feed the cattle and which consists of taking advantage of the nature of southern Chile to make cows eat grass and transform it into sustainable milk. The purpose of this technique is to have cattle give birth during the cold months and a nursing curve similar to the grass: little in winter and much more during spring time.

This entry was posted on 25 Mar 2019