In Q4 2013 the mechanical engineering group GEA was awarded large dairy processing orders worth more than EUR 120 million in total. The new projects will comprise a wide range of process technology from GEA and will benefit from GEA’s ability to leverage its expertise as a leading system provider to the food industry.
"In Q4 our customers continued to invest in large facilities to cover the ever rising demand for dairy products particularly in Asia", stated Jürg Oleas, CEO of GEA Group Aktiengesellschaft.
The highlight of these major orders was a very large order of more than EUR 70 million by FrieslandCampina, a leading global dairy company, to supply a processing plant in the Netherlands. The plant will be supplied by GEA Process Engineering and will utilize equipment to convert milk and other ingredients into high quality skim- and whole milk powder, skim milk concentrate and powdered infant formula. GEA's scope of supply will cover the complete production process from reception, pre-processing, concentrating, drying and packing.
GEA's capability to provide world leading innovative technology on such a scale was showcased by the final commissioning of a major dairy project from 2012 in New Zealand. On December 7, 2013, Fonterra celebrated the official opening of the world's largest milk powder dryer at its Darfield site. This dryer was built by GEA and the project volume for GEA was also worth more than EUR 70 million. The milk powder produced at Darfield will be exported to more than 20 markets worldwide including the Middle East, China and Southeast Asia.
