SALEM: About 80% of the construction work of Aavin's new 30 metric-tonne-per-day milk powder plant in Salem, which began in February 2024, is now complete, and the plant is expected to be ready by December. Commercial production is expected to start in February 2026.
The Rs 60-crore project will triple the plant's current processing capacity from 10 metric tonnes to 30 metric tonnes per day, making it one of the most advanced dairy facilities in the state.
Civil works have been completed on five floors of the six-storey building, and machinery procurement will begin soon, followed by installation and testing. Officials say the expansion will help Aavin (Salem) easily handle its milk procurement, the highest in the state.
Aavin (Salem) currently procures 6.5 lakh litres of milk everyday from 2.25 lakh farmers from 787 primary societies. Of this, 3.5 lakh litres are sent as raw milk to other cities, 2.5 lakh litres are used for the Salem market, and 50,000 litres are turned into products such as milk powder, butter, ghee, curd, buttermilk, paneer, khova and milkshakes. These products are packed in tetra packs and have a six-month shelf life.
The new plant will increase milk powder output, and also produce dairy whitener and whole milk powder. It will run on a fully computerised SCADA (Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition) system, which automates operations such as temperature control and equipment monitoring.
The milk will be concentrated using a "five-effect falling film evaporator" fitted with thermal vapour recompression (TVR) technology. In simple terms, this method reuses steam from one stage to heat the next stage, saving energy and making the evaporation process more efficient. This is the step where water is removed from the milk to turn it into powder.
From the new facility, Aavin will be able to produce whole milk powder, skimmed milk powder, and dairy whitener in both 25-kg bulk packs and smaller retail packs of 200g, 500g, and 1kg.
Currently, Tamil Nadu has only four milk powder manufacturing plants in Erode, Madurai, Tiruvannamalai and Salem.
"With the expansion of milk powder plant capacity from 10 to 30 metric tonnes per day and the addition of advanced machinery, the Salem plant will become the most modern and largest capacity milk powder unit in the State," said P Kumareswaran, general manager of Aavin, Salem.