Gönenli Süt and GEA sign contract for first ever infant nutritional formula plant in Turkey

The new plant of Gönenli Süt in Akhisar, Turkey. The dairy manufacturer will produce first domestic infant nutritional formula with state-of-the-art processing technology from GEA. (Pic. Gönenli)

Established in 2015 and headquartered in Istanbul, Gönenli Süt is one of Turkey's major contract dairy manufacturers. The firm's existing plant, in Balikesir, processes 800 tonnes per day of raw milk into cheese, UHT- (ultra-high temperature) and ESL- (extended shelf-life) milk, for major global brands and for discount markets. Besides many kinds of dairy products, Gönenli also focuses on high technology nutrition products and plant-based milks in cooperation with well-known multinationals. Gönenli is the first dairy company in Turkey approved for enteral nutrition products manufacturing and pioneered local production for two of the existing three key multinationals dominating the Turkish market.

Rapid growth in both domestic and international milk markets has meant that the existing plant could no longer meet demand. Thus, in 2019 Gönenli made the decision to expand and construct a new facility at the new site secured in Akhisar. The new facility will expand Gönenli's capacity for processing UHT- and ESL-milk for existing and new customers around the world. For this part of the plant, GEA is supplying separators and a MVR1 (mechanical vapor recompression) evaporator (30,000 kg/h).

The Akhisar facility will home as well the first domestic production of infant nutritional formula. Zeki Sözen, President of Gönenli Dairy, states: "Infant formula production is critical for Turkey because it is all imported. While self-sufficiency for food is major concern for many nations, one can easily imagine the importance of infant formula."