GEA builds first freeze-dried coffee production plant for Tata Coffee outside of India

GEA has completed a new freeze-dried instant coffee plant on a green field site in Vietnam for Tata Coffee Vietnam Company Limited, a 100% subsidiary of Tata Coffee Limited, India. According to the timetable for the contract project which was signed two years ago, the new plant was inaugurated on March 6, 2019 – just 19 months after the groundbreaking ceremony.

Vietnam is the world’s second largest producer of green coffee, after Brazil. The plant in the Binh Duong Province produces 5,000 metric tons/annum of freeze-dried coffee. GEA supplied the entire production line from roast bean treatment right through to the packing of the freeze-dried powder using its proven technology. This included: CARINE extraction which operates at optimal conditions, using precisely developed extraction times to obtain the highest possible yields while respecting the final product quality; aroma recovery; mechanical vapor recovery (MVR) evaporation; and a CONRAD® 600 XL ECO freeze dryer for highly efficient continuous operation with minimal energy consumption. GEA also supplied a complete pilot plant, providing Tata with facilities where it can develop exclusive blends for customers. 

Previous work carried out for Tata Coffee includes a coffee extraction and evaporation plant that GEA built for the company in India in 2013. GEA also has extensive experience of building coffee plants in Vietnam and this local experience was extremely useful as GEA project managers were able to provide Tata with support in sourcing experienced and reliable local partners for managing, utilities, installation and workshop facilities. The factory required nearly one million man hours to build and maintain an exemplary safety record. The site has been certified for LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) and is expecting BRC (British Retail Consortium) certification shortly.

Kim Knudsen, Head of Sales, Coffee and Freeze Drying at GEA said that the Tata factory in Vietnam had been a model project for the company. “This type of project is ideal for us at GEA because our expertise and scope of supply allows us to build the entire coffee line using our own resources,” he said. “This means we can maintain control and take responsibility for the entire project from start to finish.”