India’s leading private sector dairy company Hatsun Agro Product on Thursday announced the start of commercial production at its greenfield dairy processing plant in Solapur, Maharashtra.

The plant is the 19th facility for HAP that has a network of plants in the southern States. The fully automated dairy plant, one of the technologically superior plants in the country, is set up on 72 acres at a cost of ₹130 crore, the company said in a press release.

With the new plant, the total milk processing capacity of HAP now stands at 52.50 LLPD across all its manufacturing locations in five states. “HAP is glad to commence production in Maharashtra, a versatile State that offers excellent growth opportunities for the dairy industry and HAP envisages the plant to strengthen its foothold and provide a gateway of further growth in the western region,” HAP Chairman RG Chandramogan was quoted in the statement.

HAP intends to manufacture a variety of products at this Solapur facility and will provide over 3,000 direct and indirect jobs. Additionally, this plant will help onboard 75,000-90,000 dairy farmers to the mainstream network and will boost their income, the company said.