Brazil. Güntner provided different refrigeration technologies for the execution of a project in a renowned dairy company. Brazil is one of the top five consumer markets for milk and dairy products in the world, and Selita is one of its top dairy companies.
Founded in the southeastern Brazilian state of Espirito Santo as a cooperative in 1938, Selita has weathered several storms over the years: from the end of government prices and the entry of multinationals into the domestic market to the introduction of Long Life milk, which threatened Selita's own packaged dairy product. In recent times, the company has grown and modernized, maintaining its cooperative ideals, and has established itself as a firm consumer favorite.
In 2017, Selita began construction of a huge new US$25 million industrial park in Safra, not far from the municipality of Espirito Santo de Cachoeiro de Itapemirim. The aim of the new facility was to enable the company to double its production capacity to 850,000 litres per day while reducing the amount of water and energy used compared to its previous plant. In financial terms, the goal was to reduce spending by US$200,000 a month, but sustainability was also at the heart of the project: in addition to saving water and energy, other environmentally friendly initiatives included paving the plant's access road with a byproduct of the steel industry. The factory also uses state-of-the-art technology, including an automated production line.
Selita originally approached Güntner in Brazil with the intention of simply purchasing Güntner air coolers for the new plant, but Güntner responded with a proposal to supply the entire cooling system, including the thermal stratification and accumulation tanks.
"The plan was basically to supply everything needed for a complete cooling system," says Adriano Gonçalves da Silva, Technical Sales at Güntner in Brazil. "In addition to three Güntner ECOSS 2.0 condensers in stainless steel, with built-in intelligent control systems, this included screw compressors, chillers, an oil cooling system and an automated monitoring system.
"Because the cooling system works automatically and intelligently, monthly and annual energy consumption is reduced," adds Gonçalves. "That ranges from loading thermal energy into tanks to optimizing the flow rate of the hydroalcoholic solution, to controlling RPM on the screw processors on demand."
"By offering a complete solution, focused on optimization and cost reduction, we convinced Selita that in addition to hiring a leading company in the market, it also had the best opportunity to get value for money," said Adriano Gonçalves Da Silva, Technical Sales at Güntner.
The new industrial park was inaugurated in October 2021 and was hailed by the then president of the company, Leonardo Monteiro, as a milestone in the history of the cooperative.
"This new park will allow a significant reduction in costs compared to our previous factory. In addition, with the new equipment and the modern structure, it will generate more efficiency in all processes, "said Rubén Moreira, president of Selita.
In addition to the established products, the refrigeration plant will allow the manufacture of new ones, such as ricotta cheese. "The factory is sustainable in all its processes, and also increases productivity. We can produce a wider range of products to meet the wishes of our consumers, while providing better remuneration for our cooperative members and significantly improving the cooling capacity of milk received from cooperative members," Moreira said.
