At China Green Dairy Summit, SPX Chief Technologist sheds light on new solutions for enhancing sustainability in global operations

During a recent China dairy industry summit focused on "green" technologies, Dr. Paul J. Skudder, a chief technologist for SPX, presented a series of innovations that have the potential to dramatically improve sustainability in global dairy operations. Paul is an SPX corporate employee based in the Crawley Engineering office in the United Kingdom.

Paul's presentations at the China Green Dairy Summit 2011, which took place recently in Huhhot, China, showcased SPX's work with food and beverage companies to help them reach and exceed their corporate sustainability goals. SPX has completed six major dairy projects in China in the last two years, with an emphasis on fresh dairy and yogurt. The company has also established a pilot plant to assist the development of new high added value products, along with an SPX Anhydro evaporation and drying plant for the safe production of milk powders.

SPX is implementing several green technologies with significant potential to advance sustainability in the dairy industry. "Over the past several years, SPX's R&D efforts have focused on a number of innovative technologies focused on energy, water and chemical reduction as the food and beverage industry becomes more environmentally focused and efficiency conscious," Paul said. "These technologies are noteworthy because they can both potentially reduce environmental impact and improve financial returns."

SPX solutions are designed to assist its food and beverage customers in achieving improved water efficiency and treatment of waste water; enhanced energy efficiency; reduced carbon emissions and solid waste; and increased product recovery. For example, SPX engineers have developed cleaning-in-place technologies that help minimize water use and recover chemicals, which are particularly useful for companies located in areas where water resources are scarce.

Another example is SPX Instant Infusion^TM, a unique solution that uses the right amount of heat to destroy harmful bacteria without adversely affecting the taste, texture and essential nutrients of sensitive products such as milk-based infant formula, whey protein concentrates and processed cheese. This technology enables the production of high quality milk with extended shelf life, and is crucial to protecting the vitamins and nutritional value of processed dairy products, such as infant formula, while also ensuring high food safety by eliminating micro-organisms and spores.

SPX offers extensive global experience in food, beverage, and dairy processing, with a wide range of technologies deployed by engineering and project management centers around the world. SPX's success in China has been largely due to its extensive knowledge of the local dairy industry, its engineering of customized solutions for the local market, and locally-based engineering and manufacturing resources.