Miller Magazine Issue: 144 December 2021

42 MILLER / december 2021 NEWS GEA has won a multi-million Euro contract fromTurkey-based dairy manufacturer Gönenli Süt to enrich the country’s first ever plant for producing powdered infant nutritional formula with state-of- the-art machine technology for the processing part. The facility, to be constructed at a new Gönenli site in Akhisar, will produce high-quality infant nutritional formula for major global brands, reducing the country’s reliance on imports. Production capacity is expected to be 13,800 tonnes per year, with the plant scheduled to come on stream in March 2023. GEA MSD® spray dryer and TVR (thermal vapour re- compression) evaporator systems tailored to the exact plant requirements will be instrumental to process the infant formula with precise nutritional and physical char- acteristics in a safe and reproducible way. GEA equip- ment is recognized worldwide for demonstrating the rig- orous and exacting levels of hygiene and product safety required for producing dairy-based nutritional powders, including infant formula. VERSATILE PLANT WILL PRODUCE INFANT MILK FORMULA, UHT- AND ESL-MILK Established in 2015 and headquartered in Istanbul, Gönenli Süt is one of Turkey’s major contract dairy manu- facturers. The firm’s existing plant, in Balikesir, processes 800 tonnes per day of raw milk into cheese, UHT- (ul- tra-high temperature) and ESL- (extended shelf-life) milk, for major global brands and for discount markets. Be- sides many kinds of dairy products, Gönenli also focuses on high technology nutrition products and plant-based milks in cooperation with well-known multinationals. Gönenli is the first dairy company in Turkey approved for enteral nutrition products manufacturing and pioneered local production for two of the existing three key multina- tionals dominating the Turkish market. Rapid growth in both domestic and international milk markets has meant that the existing plant could no longer meet demand. Thus, in 2019 Gönenli made the decision GEA and Gönenli Süt sign contract for first ever infant nutritional formula plant in Turkey The new plant of Gönenli Süt in Akhisar, Turkey. The dairy manufacturer will produce first domestic infant nutritional formula with state-of-the-art processing technology from GEA. (Pic. Gönenli)