CHARLOTTE, N.C. and SHANGHAI, China (PRNewswire) — SPX Corporation today announced that its Flow Technology segment has been awarded a contract worth approximately $40 million by Bright Dairy & Food Co., Ltd. to establish a new dairy processing plant in Shanghai, China capable of producing pasteurized fresh milk, ultra-high temperature (UHT) long shelf life milk and yogurt. When completed, the new plant is expected to be one of the largest fresh dairy and yogurt plants in China. The contract was announced at a special ceremony in Shanghai featuring senior executives from both companies.
Under the terms of the contract, SPX will design and install a series of full-line fresh dairy and yogurt processing systems in Bright Dairy's 155,000-square-meter facility, now under construction in Shanghai. The plant is expected to significantly expand Bright Dairy's overall dairy production capacity to more than 2.1 million liters per day, and will bring the company's production of fresh dairy milk and yogurt under one roof for the first time. The plant's state-of-the-art dairy processing systems will feature recent innovations from SPX's APV business, a market leader in the industry.
"Bright Dairy is one of the largest dairy companies in China, and is well positioned to help meet growing demand across China for fresh milk, ultra-high temperature long shelf life milk and yogurt," said Don Canterna, SPX segment president. "We look forward to leveraging our deep expertise in dairy processing technologies to help Bright Dairy establish the largest multi-product dairy facility in China's dairy industry."
According to research firm Euromonitor International, China's overall dairy sales reached $28 billion in 2011, up 8.5% from the previous year, and are projected to reach nearly $40 billion in the year 2014. Sales of stirred, drinking and functional yogurt in China, the main types of yogurts to be produced by the new Bright Dairy facility, are projected to grow by as much as 20 percent over the next two years.
"This plant will utilize SPX's latest innovations for dairy processing which are focused on greater efficiencies for Bright Dairy in milk processing, clean-in-place cleaning, heat recovery and water recirculation," Canterna added.
The design and installation of the dairy processing equipment is scheduled to be completed in 2012, with the plant becoming operational in the first half of 2013.