GEA has secured a contract to construct a new milk production facility for Indian company AmulFed Dairy, a unit of Gujarat Co-operative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF).

To be built in Gandhinagar in the Indian state of Gujarat, the new plant will be able to produce around 150tn per day of skimmed milk powder and 120tn per day of dairy whitener / baby food. The plant is scheduled to commence production next year.

Currently, AmulFed Dairy markets its milk products under the Amul brand and its baby milk powder under the name of Amul Spray.

GEA will construct the new facility on a turnkey basis. The plant will process nearly 90,000l per hour of milk. It plant will be equipped with an advanced safety system and will be built using hygienic architectural design principles.

"We will provide AmulFed with a hygienically-superior plant that will deliver peak performance."

GEA India country managing director Abhay Chaudhari said: “We will provide AmulFed with a hygienically-superior plant that will deliver peak performance.

“The AmulFed milk powder plant at Gandhinagar will not be just the largest in Asia but it will also be the most environment friendly.”

The new plant will feature GEA’s mechanical vapour re-compression (MVR) system and a reverse osmosis (RO) polisher, which will treat milk condensate and recycle any water produced for reuse within the plant. It will also be equipped with GEA SANICIP bag filters, clarifying separator and sifter.

It will be designed to operate in a fully automated mode, which includes the powder production, conveying, storage, packing, final packed product conveying and a complete management information system.

Image: New milk processing facility. Photo: © GEA Group.