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Our Correspondent

FULLY AUTOMATED: Mr R.K. Krishna Kumar (left), Chairman, Tata Coffee, inspecting the new freeze-dried plant at Jeyamangalam in Theni district on Tuesday. — G. Karthikeyan

Jayamangalam (Theni Dt) March 27 Tata Coffee Ltd set in motion the operation of its Rs 19-crore freeze-dried coffee (FDC) plant here on Tuesday. "With this, Tata Coffee will have its presence in all value-added segments of soluble coffee," said Mr R.K. Krishnakumar, Chairman, Tata Coffee Ltd, while inaugurating the plant.

FDC, being in the fastest growing instant coffee segment commanding significant premium over other soluble coffee, is expected to significantly contribute to the company's growth plans, he added.

Tata Coffee acquired High Hill Coffee Company, which was functioning at Jayamangalam, for Rs 11 crore. At an additional investment of Rs 8 crore the plant was automated, which has lowered the water dependency.

This is the first of its kind in India and South-East Asia with the technology provided by E.E. Verfahrenstechnik GmbH, Germany, he told Business Line.

The plant currently has a capacity of 2,000 tonnes per annum and could be increased further, depending on the growth in demand. Being in the high quality segment, the product has great attraction in the US, the UK and Europe and the venture would help to raise the global presence. Currently, this is around 2-3 per cent and the company has plans to improve the share to 10 per cent in another two years, he mentioned.

As part of corporate social responsibility, for the economically disadvantaged section, the Tata Trust would build a hospital with 10 beds and facility for outpatient treatment in the area.

Efforts to engage in the promotion of education, computer literacy and extension of micro-credit for women self-help groups would be pursued, he added.

More Stories on : New Projects | Coffee | Tamil Nadu

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