New name for Synlait Farms

Synlait Farms has changed its name to Purata. The change reflected the dairy farm group’s separate identity since leaving the Synlait group, chief executive Juliet Maclean said. The farm business still had a strong customer-supplier relationship with Synlait Milk but they had operated as separate companies for a considerable time. Purata was a mix of Latin and Maori to mean “clear and bright, like a beautiful morning”, Maclean said. Purata is majority owned by Chinese group Shanghai Pengxin, with Maclean and  Synlait Milk managing director John Penno as minority shareholders. The company owns 13 dairy farms in central Canterbury, on a total of 4820 hectares.