Energy-efficient technology multiplies dairy’s production capacity

An Armenian dairy producer invested in new production machines to increase operational efficiency, boost its productivity and become more environmentally friendly.

Established in 2000, Millkat LLC distributes a range of dairy products under the brand name Elnor nationwide.

The old equipment, which the company used to make butter and butter spread, with the capacity of 1,000 kg/h, was unable to achieve the production levels the company desired. The management, therefore, decided to replace the machine with a new model with 2,000 kg/h capacity, which can handle higher loads. At the same time, the new technology does not need a separate pasteurisation section, as it is already integrated into the system, with a lamellar type of butter spread former, which uses regenerated heat and consumes 40% less ice water and 50% less steam than the previously used separate pasteuriser.

The company received a technical assessment from the GEFF team at no charge and was granted the financing by its partner bank.

The investment of US$ 140,000 for new Molmash equipment will enable the company to save almost US$ 18,000 annually, as a result of annual energy savings of 496 MWh/year. In addition, the company will contribute to saving 127 tonnes of CO₂ per year.

“The chosen technology is not only efficient from an energy efficiency perspective, but is also cleaner and can be operated for longer hours with lower maintenance costs,” says the Director of the company, Mr Sedrak Hakobyan.

This project was supported by the Green Climate Fund (GCF) and the Climate Investment Funds (CIF).