Milk Processing Plant at ₹10 Lakhs? Check how George Thomas is empowering Rural Entrepreneurship!
Setting up a business is never easy and this is more so in rural areas. It takes vision to bring the potential of India’s rural economy to the fore and help it grow based on rural entrepreneurship. George V Thomas is one such visionary who has made it possible with his brilliant idea to facilitate the setting up of mini dairies in India at a fraction of the investment required for a full-scale dairy plant.
The grip of COVID-19 in India saw many entrepreneurs think out of the box to survive. George V Thomas is one of those who thought out of the box and also succeeded in laying the foundation for what is going to have a long term impact on India’s rural economy, benefiting thousands of dairy farmers. In conversation with Machine Maker, George V Thomas, the Hyderabad based Tool-Tech CEO narrates his vision.
Milk Processing-a summary
Milk processing involves the preservation of milk for a certain period of time to nullify the chances of contamination and food-borne diseases. It involves six steps: milk collection, milk storage, pasteurization, cream separation, homogenization, and milk-filling and packaging.
Milk collection is self-explanatory. After cows are milked, the produce is transported by tank lorries to different dairy plants. The next step is milk storage, where the milk acquired is stored in large refrigerator tanks at a maximum temperature of five degrees Celsius. The third step is pasteurization. Named after its inventor Louis Pasteur, this process involves heating milk at a temperature of 72°C for at least 15 seconds and then cooling it immediately to destroy harmful bacteria and other dangerous microorganisms. Pasteurization also helps extend shelf life. Then comes cream separation. After the milk has been pasteurized, the fat of the milk is separated by cream separation machines. Milk with low or no fact content is called skimmed milk.
The fifth step is homogenization. To prevent the cream from separating from the rest of the liquid after the milk has been stored, homogenization is carried out using homogenizer machines. The sixth and final step is milk-filling and packaging. At last, the milk can be packed into cartons, glass containers, pouches, PET bottles, and so on. To ensure long shelf life, the milk is filled and packed using aseptic technology.
Mr Thomas added, “Tool-Tech also offers milk pasteurizers for pasteurization, insulated milk storage plants for storing milk, milk cream separators to separate the cream from the milk, milk-packing machines for packaging, and so on. We are always ready to provide the best products to our customers.”Thus, Tool Tech provides all the paraphernalia necessary for establishing milk-processing plants.
Armed with the sine qua non of milk processing procedures and sound knowledge of the industry, Tool Tech has set about assisting farmers to start their own automated milk processing plant to provide fairness. Mr Thomas said, “We at Tool Tech are constantly in the process of conceiving new and creative ideas to overcome issues such as power instability and milk transportation in rural areas so that even farmers in remote areas have the opportunity to grow their own brand.”
