Tetra Pak's dairy cooperation to tackle euro industry challenges

Luxlait, a manufacturer of a variety of dairy products like milk, butter and yoghurts, says it will work with the packaging and processing group in a bid to position itself to meet a number of challenges within European dairy production, from product innovation to food safety. The new dairy plant, which will be built on an undeveloped Greenfield site is expected to boost Luxlait's annual intake of 120m litres of raw milk by the time it opens, during the second quarter, the processor claimed. Cooperation for innovation ​ Tetra Pak's Ron De Keersmaeker said that the cooperation with Luxlait, which will supply the entire funding for the project, expands a longstanding business relationship designed to develop innovative and lower energy emitting packaging and processing machines. Gerard Reslinger, Luxlait's industrial director, said that a key reason for cooperating on the new plant would be to meet changing consumer demands for greener and healthier products, while addressing the need for quality assurance and food safety. "These are points we cannot compromise on,"​ he stated. "Our second focus is on operating costs and flexibility."​​ De Keersmaeker said that the plant will not exclusively use Tetra Pak products, particularly in regard to existing processing technologies at the group's previous site, and would look for the best available solutions for operating the plant. Tetra Pak said it would install its Tetra Plant Master system at the site, which it claims will grant Luxlait a means of improving improved traceability for energy output and safety, by tracking and recording various production data. Green issues ​ Using these technologies, Luxlait says it is aims to reduce its fossil energies use by 25 per cent, and drinking water usage by at least 38 per cent. Reslinger said that the environment was a particularly vital concern for dairy manufacture and is expected to become even more so in the future. "The impact of environmental values on costs is becoming ever greater, because the cost of energy is increasing, as is the price tag on waste processing and disposal,"​ he stated. "It is absolutely necessary to take this into account when calculating of the cost of our products."​ Dairy diversity ​ According to Luxlait, besides achieving a more efficient production process, the manufacture of a wider variety of goods - particularly in the value-added segment like functional drink - was also a significant challenge. "Markets are evolving and we must be able to evolve in accordance with [them], but at the same time we also have to be able to answer to our customers' daily requests,"​ he stated. "In the fresh dairy market, business varies depending on the season, different product quantity needs and even depending on the day of the week."​