The Manawatu Co-operative Dairy Company Ltd was established in 1960. To cope with the enlarged intake of milk and cream a continuous butter making system was planned and a new butter factory was opened in 1968. At the time, it was the third largest dairy co-operative in New Zealand, having an ultimate capacity of 20,000 tons of butter a year, a whole milk capacity of 3000, 000 gallons of milk daily and production value of $11,000,000 annually.