Sweet home Canterbury: Synlait Milk to say goodbye North Island

Synlait Milk chair George Adams and chief executive Richard Wyeth are leading the business' turnaround. (Image: Supplied/Jacques Steenkamp)

Riley Kennedy

Mon, 17 Nov 2025

As soon as Synlait Milk hands over the keys to its North Island operations to new owner Abbott, the leadership team will likely be on the next flight to Christchurch and not looking back.The $307 million deal for Abbott to acquire ownership of the Pōkeno manufacturing site, which includes a blending and canning facility and a warehouse in Auckland, will mark the end of a troubled period in the company’s history.What started as a project to expand beyond Canterbury turned into a more than $400m mistake, which put the company under signific...

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