BRAC Dairy Eliminates Milk Spoilage
The partnership between BRAC and Promethean Power Systems to reduce spoilage of raw milk produced by dairy farmers has proven a success. Buoyed by the success of their initial investment in five Rapid Milk Chillers, BRAC has recently purchased 19 more similar units from Promethean. The aim is to link more dairy farmers to key markets while maintaining the quality of raw milk, said a statement.
BRAC collects milk from over 100 village-level chilling centers, where at least 50,000 dairy farmers pool their daily produce, to sell packaged dairy products under its Aarong brand. In the long run, this is expected to bring more consumers into the fold of the formal, processed and packaged milk market in Bangladesh.
Promethean Power’s Rapid Milk Chillers use a patented thermal energy storage technology that instantly chills raw milk to 4 degrees centigrade at the milk collection centers even in the absence of grid electricity and without using a diesel generator, has revolutionized quality assurance mechanism by helping farmers preserve milk it is collected for processing by overcoming common limitations faced by farmers in the developing nations – irregular electricity supply, poor infrastructure, and expensive diesel generator backup.
As milk spoilage rates have dramatically dipped following the installation of the Rapid Milk Chillers, BRAC has been able to instill greater confidence among dairy farmers about finding guaranteed offtake of their milk every day. As timely milk chilling continues to bring better returns to farmers based on the quality of milk, many have made profits substantial enough to afford an investment in new cows — a mark of both progress and prestige in the local community.
Nour-E-Alom, Manager, Milk Procurement, BRAC Dairy and Food Enterprise, said that they were looking for a solution that would be cost effective, eco-friendly, and scalable. “Promethean’s solution for our milk collection center is both cost effective and eco-friendly and we are extremely happy with the results. By installing Promethean’s Rapid Milk Chillers in the villages, we are able to eliminate wastage by over 90% and increase the volume of our collection,” he said.
Jofi Joseph, Director of Sales and Marketing, Promethean Power Systems, said, “By helping chill raw milk at the village collection center without the need for a diesel generator, Promethean’s Rapid Milk Chillers present a simple and cost-effective solution to similar problems that developing milk-producing nations face. BRAC, with its Aarong brand, is doing a commendable job of helping farmers augment their income by linking them to urban markets. We are pleased to help BRAC realize its mission to channel quality milk from rural to urban areas.”
Promethean Power’s innovative solutions have already attracted attention and is gaining in popularity across the subcontinent.
Promethean Installs Thermal Energy Based Bulk Milk Coolers at Thirumala's Collection Sites in TN
Promethean Power Systems recently installed its patented energy-efficient bulk milk coolers at village-level collection centers run by Thirumala Milk Products (P) Ltd, a subsidiary of Groupe Lactalis S.A.
Promethean’s innovative bulk milk coolers will now help Thirumala Milk Products (P) Ltd. chill raw milk efficiently without diesel generators at village level collection centres in Thirumannamallai district of Tamil Nadu and bring quality dairy products to consumers.
Why Promethean’s Bulk Milk Coolers?
Thirumala was seeking a village-level milk cooling solution that would help procure and preserve high-quality milk while being both cost- and energy-efficient. The company chose Promethean’s bulk milk coolers over other products available on the market due to overall energy efficiency, low operational costs, and diesel-free eco-friendly operations.
Promethean’s patented thermal-energy storage technology entirely eliminates the use of diesel generators for power backup, resulting in a significant drop in chilling expenses, and operational and maintenance costs for Tirumala Milk Products.
The installation of the milk chillers, each with a cooling capacity of 2,000 liters per day, was marked by a festive inauguration ceremony.
In addition to the bulk milk coolers, Thirumala installed Promethean’s solar pack add-on to maximize energy efficiency, reduce its carbon footprint even further, and eliminate the need for batteries to run the lights, milk analyzer and other essential equipment in the centers. A significant advantage of using the solar pack is that the milk tanker will be able to collect the milk even when there is no electricity available at the site.
A Snapshot of Thirumala Milk Products (P) Ltd
Thirumala Milk Products is one of the largest manufacturers and suppliers of dairy products in Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, and Tamil Nadu. Tirumala was founded in 1996 and was acquired by French dairy giant, Groupe Lactalis S.A., in 2014. The company is focused on producing high-quality milk products with an emphasis on freshness, taste, and healthiness at the best possible price. The company produces a range of assorted products including fresh milk, curd, flavored milk, lassi, buttermilk, ghee, UHT milk, ice-cream, and paneer. These are produced at nine state-of-the-art manufacturing plants spread across southern India. Tirumala has also built a strong presence in Telangana, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, and West Bengal.
Have questions or comments? Please send them over to info@promethean-power.com.
How Promethean Power Systems is revitalizing dairy farming industry
Sneha Jha | Economic Times CIO
February 01, 2017, 11:55 IST
Khanderao Nimbhorkar, a 45-year-old dairy farmer from Ahmednagar district’s Hattalkhindi village, is brimming with confidence and excitement. His dairy farming activities now fetch him a tidy sum of Rs 20,000 per month. Coming this far would not have been possible for Nimbhorkar without the help of Pune-based refrigeration solution provider Promethean Power systems. Co-founded by Boston-based entrepreneurs Sorin Grama and Sam White, the company has come up with a socially-relevant invention to strengthen the weakest link in the chain of dairy farming: milk collection.
As the largest milk producer and consumer in the world, India has earned the sobriquet of the oyster of the global dairy industry. It accounts for 18 percent of global milk production in the world. Rural India churns out 102 million gallons of milk every year, generating employment for over 75 million dairy farmers.
Read the full story here.
Eventual sweet taste of success
Anjuli Bhargava | Business Standard
January 30, 2017
In life, it’s easier to fail than to succeed. Romania-born Sorin Grama and US-born Sam White learnt this the hard way in India. The two are co-founders of Promethean Power Systems, a company they set up in India some years earlier, moved base to Delhi for a while to sell their idea and, after having tasted many failures, seem to finally be on the way to achieving a degree of success. In 2007, the duo first came to India to try and sell a technology developed by some of their fellow MIT students.
Heritage Foods Inaugurates New Rapid Milk Chiller near Visakhapatnam
Promethean Power Systems’ Rapid Milk Chillers will now help Heritage Foods process higher volumes of better quality milk. Heritage Foods, one of the fastest-growing public listed companies in India, which boasts a processing capacity of 1.53 million litres of milk per day, recently installed Promethean’s Rapid Milk Chiller at its Munagapaka site near Visakhapatnam on June 10, 2016.
The unit was inaugurated by Mrs. Bhuvaneswari Nara, vice-chairperson and managing director, Heritage Foods.
Within a few weeks of installing the Rapid Milk Chiller, Heritage Foods has seen a 6x increase in milk procurement. The availability of an instant chilling option to preserve the quality of milk and save it from spoilage has inspired confidence among farmers, which has helped increase procurement volume, said officials at Heritage Dairy.
Improvements are also being reported in the quality of milk processed. Mr. Divakara Rao, Zonal Head, Visakhapatnam district, said that the unit has helped them achieve a high MBRT level.
If you would like to learn more or see a demonstration of the Rapid Milk Chiller, please contact the Promethean team.