GEA completes freeze-dried coffee plant in Vietnam
GEA has completed a new freeze-dried instant coffee plant on a green field site in Vietnam for Tata Coffee Vietnam Company, a 100% subsidiary of Tata Coffee Limited, India.
Vietnam is the world’s second largest producer of green coffee, after Brazil, and the plant in the Binh Duong Province will produce 5,000 metric tons a year of freeze-dried coffee.
GEA supplied the entire production line from roast bean treatment right through to the packing of the freeze-dried powder. This included: Carine extraction which uses precisely developed extraction times to obtain the highest possible yields while respecting the final product quality; aroma recovery; mechanical vapor recovery (MVR) evaporation; and a Conrad 600 XL Eco freeze dryer for efficient continuous operation with minimal energy consumption. GEA also supplied a complete pilot plant, providing Tata with facilities where it can develop exclusive blends for customers.
Kim Knudsen, head of sales, coffee and freeze drying at GEA said that the Tata factory in Vietnam had been a model project for the company. “This type of project is ideal for us at GEA because our expertise and scope of supply allows us to build the entire coffee line using our own resources,” he said. “This means we can maintain control and take responsibility for the entire project from start to finish.”
