£5 million investment for Laila Rice
Surya Foods’ Harwich site’s processing capacity is set to almost double following the installation of new Buhler equipment.
The move comes as Laila Rice, the company’s basmati rice brand, celebrated its best year ever year last year, with branded growth up 43.9% (£2.6 million).
The operations team are midway through the £5m project, which will see production increase from 10 to 16 tonnes of rice per hour.
Buhler’s Sortex UltraVision optical sorter is described by the manufacturer as ‘a giant leap forward in intelligent optical sorting for rice’. The machinery is engineered and designed exclusively for rice processors, and promises to increase output by at least 30%.
To complement the Buhler installation, two further machines are also being installed – an Ulma packaging machine, which will double packing capacity, and a Symach palletiser to keep pace with new production outputs.
