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After a two-year construction period and initial commissioning in September, Fonterra inaugurated its state-of-the-art, high-efficiency milk powder factory at Lichfield, New Zealand. The expansion included a new milk powder processing plant, services, wastewater plant and distribution center. The centerpiece of the facility is the largest milk powder spray dryer currently available on the market, which was built by GEA. In terms of material usage, energy consumption and waste, the milk processing plant is now the most efficient facility of its kind in the industry.
GEA constructed the milk powder plant as a turnkey solution, providing all the process technology – from reception of the milk tanker and evaporation, to drying, powder handling and packaging. The drying chamber weighs around 200 tons and has a diameter of 18 meters. The processing capacity of 30 tons of high-quality milk powder per hour equates to over 4.4 million liters of milk a day. This corresponds to the volume of almost two Olympic-standard swimming pools. The spray dryer is the second of its kind built by GEA. Its sister plant Darfield II, which is also operated by Fonterra in New Zealand, has been producing high-quality powdered milk reliably since December 2013. For Lichfield, the GEA experts developed several innovations to improve sustainability and further reduce the total cost of ownership to the customer. In particular, energy efficiency was a key focus for the project team. For instance, the plant requires very little process water as the evaporator condensate is filtered in a specific way and, thanks to GEA technology, can then be re-used during processing. As a result, Fonterra has reduced its demand for ground water for the site.
Fonterra is one of the world’s major milk producers. Its Chairman of the Board of Directors, John Wilson emphasizes the strategic importance of powder production to the co-operative’s overall asset mix: “This new plant will help us to strike a balance in our processing that allows us to switch between products quickly to meet demand changes in global markets, push the pace on production when milk volumes dictate, and ultimately deliver the best product mix to generate returns.” Fonterra wants to export the premium milk powder from its site in Lichfield to as many as 20 different markets, including the Middle East, China and South-East Asia.
“This project is testament to the high degree of trust leading global food producers place in GEA’s reliable process technology. High-performance, efficient spray dryers like the one in Lichfield play a key role in the industry because demand for milk in expanding markets such as China can only be met by easily transportable, stable milk powder which needs to be imported into these markets. For the processing of milk and subsequent production and packaging of high-quality dairy powder products, GEA offers its global customers comprehensive process know-how spanning all stages of production," says Niels Erik Olsen, Member of GEA’s Management Board and responsible for the Business Area Solutions.
The huge interest in GEA’s smart technologies for the dairy industry at the EuroTier 2016 trade fair in Hanover exceeded all expectations. The company’s “Smart Technology for Future Farming” concept links applications intelligently to one another and in doing so, optimizes interactions between people, animals and technology throughout the milk production process. This appeals to the many modern farmers who are on the lookout for future-oriented technologies that can help them to better manage their various processes.
CMIQ monitoring improves the health of the herd
Visitors proved to be particularly interested in automated and digital solutions. One such product GEA presented was its new CMIQ monitoring system. Due to be released in 2017, it is a system for early detection of a mastitis suspicion based on the latest sensor technology – a product that puts the animals’ health front and centre.
Web-based herd management system provides greater transparency
Another of the innovations GEA presented at the trade fair was its herd management software, DairyNet. It gives farmers the option to integrate and manage their crop management, cattle rearing, milking, animal health and reproduction processes together on a single interface. This opens up opportunities for completely new applications. The free web-based herd management option with basic functionalities was particularly popular with visitors to the stand.
The company also saw increased demand for its fully-automated milking rotary, the GEA DairyProQ, and the GEA Monobox, which was launched in the spring and already looks set to be a success.
Development and service expertise in smart technologies
Over the last two years, GEA has redesigned both its product development process and its service and maintenance portfolio, aligning them with long-term customer requirements. This has led to the development of future-oriented, intelligent, integrated technologies that appealed to a great number of this year’s EuroTier attendees. GEA recognized this trend early on and will continue to develop smart technologies with the aim of improving animal health and milk quality and making farm management more economical.
In October 2016, mechanical engineering company GEA delivers its first CRAFT-STAR™ 4-vessel brewhouse to Washington, D.C. The system is scheduled to begin commercial operation early next year. The customer is DC Brau Brewing Company, a highly renowned manufacturer of craft beers in the U.S. capital.
The CRAFT-STAR™ is specifically designed for medium-sized specialty breweries with batch sizes of 40 hectoliters (35 U.S. barrels) hot wort. The system was previously equipped with two or three vessels (mash tun kettle, lauter tun and combined whirlpool/wort kettle – depending on the configuration) and has been retrofitted with a separate whirlpool by the GEA brewery experts in Kitzingen/Germany. Now, up to seven brews a day are possible. The basic configuration already allowed for five brews a day. The CRAFT-STAR™ is preassembled and tested in Kitzingen as a compact plug & play system with process piping, instrumentation and a semi-automatic control system. Commissioning on site just takes a few days.
Due to the large share of high-quality special malts in use at most craft beer breweries, the extract efficiency of the brewhouse, based on the lauter tun efficiency, is essential to business success: The extract yield of up to 98 percent makes the CRAFT-STAR™ a leader in this discipline. “We are truly impressed with the plant’s capacity," says Jeff Hancock, co-founder of DC Brau Brewing Company. “We were searching for a versatile brewhouse suitable for the efficient production of high-quality beer for our growing brewery." The products include the award-winning DC Brau creations “The Public”, a classicAmerican Pale Ale, and “The Citizen”, a Belgian-Style Blond Ale. Brandon Skall, founding partner of DC Brau Brewing Company, adds: "The CRAFT-STAR™ system will allow us to continue to expand distribution of our award-winning flagship beers, while giving us the flexibility to experiment with new beer styles and recipes.”
“Since the market launch two years ago, the CRAFT STAR™ has been popular big hit," says Andreas Holleber, head of the GEA brewery business. “We now get orders from all around the world. Right now, we are also installing a brewhouse we designed as a complete plant together with other components for a South Korean customer." Other orders are taking GEA brewing experts to South Africa, Belgium and Hong Kong. The United States have a very creative, lively and professional specialty beer scene making them the key market for GEA craft beer plants. Half of the plants designed and manufactured in Kitzingen already went to the United States. GEA installed the first CRAFT-STAR™ in 2015, for The Bruery in Placentia, California, one of the top players of the craft beer scene in the United States. Beers produced using the CRAFT-STAR™ received several medals at this year’s Great American Beer Festival.
The CRAFT-STAR™ benefits at a glance:
Flexible and versatile brewhouse design with a cast-out quantity of 40 hectoliters (35 U.S. barrels) for up to seven brews per dayConsistent focus on specialty beers and maximum versatility through oversized vessels and select GEA technologiesPreassembly and testing at GEA keeps project times short and allows fast installation as well as low cost on-site servicesThe plant design is global, earthquake resistant and ASME compliant for variable voltage and steam suppliesClear media interfaces ease integration of existing equipmentComplete control over the lautering process thanks to differential pressure measuring and proven GEA technologies for extremely high extract yields of up to 98 percentReliable, constant brewing outcome through intelligent automation with GEARBOXX™, including recipe database, brew evaluation and management, as well as remote supportSmall footprint saves space in the brewhousePolished or matte blasted vessel cladding for an attractive appearance
GEA, one of the largest suppliers of processing technology for the global dairy and food industry, installs a high performance spray dryer as the centerpiece of the new milk powder plant in Lichfield, New Zealand. For its customer Fonterra, GEA developed the best performing and the most efficient spray dryer currently available on the market. With the capacity of 30 tons of milk powder per hour, it can process nearly 4.4 million liters of milk per day. This volume corresponds to 165 truckloads. On September 5, 2016, Fonterra started the production process, which is now being gradually expanded to round-the-clock operation.
GEA was responsible for the complete turnkey milk powder plant and provided all of the processing technology – from acceptance of the tanker to evaporation, drying and powder handling to packaging. When you know the sheer size of the spray dryer, you can clearly imagine the dimensions of the actual plant: its drying chamber weighs about 200 tons with the diameter of 18 meters. During assembly, it was lifted 34 meters above the roof of the building and had to be placed precisely within the building.
The spray dryer is the second of the kind, built by GEA. Its sister plant Darfield II, also operated by Fonterra in New Zealand, has been producing reliably high-quality powdered milk since December 2013. For Lichfield, the GEA experts developed several innovations, which simplify the processes on site and reduce the total cost of ownership. In particular, energy efficiency was a key focus for the project team. For instance, the plant requires very little process water as the evaporator condensate is filtered through the membrane of a high-pressure reverse osmosis system and, because of the GEA technology, this water can be re-used during processing. As a result, Fonterra is required to maintain much less wastewater treatment capacity at the site. By focusing on overall equipment efficiency, energy consumption and waste minimization, the completed milk processing plant is one of the most efficient in the industry.
Fonterra belongs to of the major milk producers in the world. Its Chief Operating Officer Robert Spurway points out the strategic importance of powder production to the co-operative’s overall asset mix: “Premium milk powder is a valuable product for us. The capacity the new Lichfield plant takes the pressure off during the peak of the season, meaning we have more freedom to prioritize milk into higher returning products.” Fonterra will export the premium milk powder from Lichfield to as many as 20 markets, including the Middle East, China and South-East Asia. The official opening of the milk processing plant in Lichfield is scheduled for December 2016.
“Highly-productive and efficient spray dryers, such as the one in Lichfield, play a decisive role in the industry“, says Clint Brown, responsible for the GEA operation in New Zealand. “The demand for milk in the expanding markets, such as China, can only be met by easily transportable and stable milk powder. This is processed regionally into various dairy products with the help of other GEA technologies”. To this purpose, the GEA experts plan, construct and deliver complete systems and components for production, process cooling, drying, filling and packaging of dairy products.
The new election of six employee representatives has changed the composition of the Supervisory Board of GEA Group Aktiengesellschaft and its Committees. Kurt-Jürgen Löw was elected new Deputy Chairman of the Supervisory Board as successor to Reinhold Siegers, who had held this position since 1998 and did not stand for re-election on account of his plans to retire. The election of Michaela Hubert to the control body means that five of the twelve positions on the Supervisory Board are now held by women.
“On behalf of the entire Supervisory Board, I would like to thank Reinhold Siegers for his long-standing commitment to GEA and his constructive cooperation at all times,” said Dr. Perlet, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of GEA Group Aktiengesellschaft. “Kurt-Jürgen Löw, our new Deputy Chairman, has been a member of the Supervisory Board for many years and Michaela Hubert, a new member, has a wealth of experience as a works councilor. I look forward to continuing the trusting working relationship we enjoy with the employee representatives.”
These personnel changes have also had an effect on the composition of the Presiding Committee, the Audit Committee and the Mediation Committee. The Nomination Committee has not changed. The composition of the new Supervisory Board is available on GEA’s website.
The employee representatives were appointed by order of Düsseldorf District Court on April 4, 2016 with a mandate to serve until the election proper of these representatives, which has now taken place. As was decided at the constitutive meeting of the new Supervisory Board after the AGM in April, the composition of the group of shareholder representatives has not changed.