The Hindu Business Line : Milma to outsource `Refresh' production to Nadukkara Agro

THE Kerala Co-operative Milk Marketing Federation (Milma) has wound up its Asceptic Packing Station (APS) at Alappuzha where it was making the `Refresh' brand of mango juice and instead outsourced the product to Nadukkara Agro Processing Co Ltd (NAPCL).

Milma decided to outsource the Refresh brand production to NAPCL in view of the rising maintenance expenses at the APS, official sources said.

Nadukkara Agro, which makes the `Jive' brand of packaged fruit juice, will produce Refresh at its facility at Nadukkara and sell it to Milma. Milma would continue to market the product on its own, they said.

The federation had installed the APS in 1988 at the Alappuzha unit. Over a period of time, the machinery at this unit became outdated, resulting in high operational expenses.

"If we were to replace the machinery with a new one, it would have cost us around Rs 2.2 crore. But we found that NAPCL has modern facility available and hence the decision to outsource," the sources pointed out.

Milma redeployed its employees at the APS. Currently, it sells 3,500 to 4,000 trays of Refresh every month with each tray containing 27 packets.

The sources at Milma said there was no plan to discontinue with the business of packaged fruit juice.

For NAPCL, which is now working towards a turnaround, the decision by Milma's to outsource Refresh will result in an additional revenue stream.

"We have already done 2,500 trays for Milma and in the coming months will ramp up production," an NAPCL official said.

Nadukkara Agro, promoted by the Kerala State Government and the European Union, is targeting a turnover of Rs 7.5 crore to Rs 8 crore in the current financial year. The company has set a sales target of over 5.5 million packets of its own packaged fruit juices. Recently, it launched a mango flavour under the `Jive Mango Joozy' brand.

More Stories on : Co-operatives | Dairy & Dairy Products | Kerala

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Milma to outsource `Refresh' production to Nadukkara Agro