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Milk
Last year, over 160 million cows worldwide produced roughly 500 million tonnes of milk.
The milk produced by buffalo, goats, sheep, mares and camels brought this total to approximately
600 million tonnes. GEA is a major player in the market for milking technology, with
a share of roughly 30 percent. Its subsidiary WestfaliaSurge is a leading manufacturer of
milking equipment, milk-cooling equipment and dairy supplies, i.e. facilities for equipment
cleaning, animal hygiene, spare parts, accessories as well as services and advice on milk
production.
Milk production is on the increase: it is forecast to be 615 million tonnes in 2005. The volume
of milk processing – to make yogurts, drinks and desserts, for example – is also growing.
Every year approximately P1.6 billion is invested in milk-processing equipment, of which GEA
holds a market share of approximately 12 percent.
The engineers at WestfaliaSurge know that a one-size-fits-all approach to milking is not
sufficient. Due to their peculiar characteristics, for example, cows, goats, mares and buffalo
need to be treated differently to camels. The order to supply milking equipment for the
world’s first dairy farm for camels, being built in Dubai in the Persian Gulf, was therefore a
pioneering venture for the experts at WestfaliaSurge. Camels’ milk tastes almost the same
as cows’ milk but, because it contains less than two percent fat, is much easier to digest
and is practically already homogenized. In addition, camels’ milk contains five times as
much vitamin C as cows’ milk. Camels’ milk is also said to have highly beneficial properties
for allergies, diabetes and neurodermatitis.
Although many consumers might find the idea of cows riding a carousel a bit unusual, it is
now part of everyday life for many farmers. AUTOROTOR is the name of WestfaliaSurge’s
milking carousel, which can be used to milk up to 100 cows at the same time. China provided
the GEA subsidiary with two of the largest orders in its history and the entire milking
technology industry: for approximately P4 million it supplied 15 milking carousels, each
capable of milking 48 cows, and 50 milk-cooling tanks to the Chinese province of Fujin.
63 milking carousels are being supplied to Inner Mongolia as part of an order worth
P4.5 million. The customer for both orders is Changfu, one of China’s largest dairies. The
first 30 carousels are due to be delivered to Inner Mongolia by February 2004, and the
rest will follow in the summer. The order comprises 61 milking carousels that can each
milk 24 cows at the same time and two systems capable of milking 48 cows each. China’s
dairy market is growing at the rate of 30 percent per year.
GEA subsidiary Tuchenhagen Dairy Systems won a major contract from the milk-processing
industry. The company is building four new milk-processing production lines in Leppersdorf,
eastern Germany. The customer for the order is Sachsenmilch AG. The contract comprises
all engineering, assembly and commissioning services for the production lines. The first
production line is scheduled to come on stream in April 2004, and three further lines are
due to be added in August.
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