SD Guthrie International – SDGI, which is the downstream arm of SD Guthrie Berhad, has grown its manufacturing capacity in the UK at Liverpool, with a new enzymatic interesterification – EIE facility.
The investment includes two autonomous EIE production lines with a capacity of up to 20,000 tonnes. The expansion additionally includes new storage tanks, a loading bay, and a weighbridge, as well as an effluent treatment plant. EIE employs enzymes to specifically modify fatty acids in a fat structure, enabling manufacturers in order to create fats with particular functional properties. The enzyme-based process at the Liverpool facility of SDGI has been optimized to run under less severe processing circumstances than chemical interesterification and doesn’t need post-treatment.
According to SDGI, this may enhance process efficiency, reduce effluent generation and reduce the general environmental impact when it comes to production.
Says Richard Town, chief operations officer – manufacturing at SDGI, the expanded facility will allow them to develop custom palm-based fat solutions for a variety of food applications. Examples include margarines and spreads, where smoothness, spreadability as well as controlled melting, are important – bakery fats for structure, aeration and consistent performance and biscuit fillings and confectionery when it comes to stability and controlled melting as well as specific mouthfeel.
The facility will also produce speciality fats for customized uses, supplying food manufacturers that require fats with particular performance attributes. Town says that this enhanced capability will improve the ability to respond to the changing needs of the customers while increasing the efficiency and sustainability in terms of manufacturing operations.”
It is well to be noted that the investment which will in a way help expand SD Guthrie’s manufacturing capacity in the UK will also enable it to enhance its downstream capabilities and enable the company to convert palm oil into higher-value, specialized fat solutions.
Guthrie president and group chief executive officer Mohd Haris Mohd Arshad opines “the new EIE facility is about more precision and more possibilities. More precision in how we develop products with specific functional characteristics, and more possibilities to help our customers meet evolving market demands.”
Haris further added that the investment will support sustainability ambitions under the Beyond Zero framework and enable them to capture more value throughout the palm oil value chain.
Apparently, the Liverpool expansion will further enhance SDGI’s ability to manufacture palm-based fat systems with particular functional properties in the UK for local customers. The company said this might help minimise the carbon footprint that is involved in supplying within the UK market.
The new EIE lines will complement the existing manufacturing capabilities of SDGI and are part of the wider strategy by SD Guthrie so as to strengthen its downstream business with technology and innovation as well as higher-value products.
It is worth noting that SD Guthrie manufactures and sells a variety of palm oil-derived products, which include oleochemicals, biodiesel as well as nutraceuticals, as well as palm oil, across Papua New Guinea, Malaysia, Indonesia, and the Solomon Islands.