IDM | Site report
Dry Mix quality from
Leppersdorf
IDM paid a visit to "Whey 5" at Sachsenmilch/
Unternehmensgruppe Theo Müller
With an investment of €200m, Sachsenmilch,
part of Unternehmensgruppe
Theo Müller, has brought
whey processing to a world-class
standard. The company has been processing
whey only for the past 8 years and has,
in that time, put more and more focus on
utilising permeate streams for manufacturing
high-value whey derivatives. Meanwhile,
34 · 4-5 2017 | international-dairy.com
all whey components can be utilised with
only the mash from bioethanol fermentation
leaving the Leppersdorf (East Germany)
plant as fertiliser. IDM had the highly exclusive
opportunity to visit the whey processing
facilities of Unternehmensgruppe Theo
Müller in Leppersdorf.
"As we are making pre-products for babyfood,
we have designed the latest expansion
of our whey processing, named ‘Whey 5’,
accordingly for highest possible hygiene and
product quality," explains Jeroen Derks, Managing
Director Sachsenmilch. "We operate
Whey 5 in principle just like a pharmaceutical
plant, the working processes have not much
in common with those in conventional milk or
whey processing."
Top level quality
Whey 5 stands for protein filtration and
lactose production according to the Dry
Mix standard. First ideas for an upgrade of
whey processing in Leppersdorf for manufacture
of WPC80, WPI90, MCC80 and 85
or lactose date back to 2011/12 when project
Whey 4 was just going into operation.
A year later, building works started, the official
opening of Whey 5 followed in April
2016. Mathias Hauer, Commercial Director
Milk & Whey Ingredients Sachsenmilch, told
IDM. "We care for our customers, who basically
are toddlers and elderly people, and
have decided to give quality a top priority.
That means that we thoroughly validate all
our processing and management around
Whey 5." Dr. Lars Gorzki, Head of Production
of Whey 5, added: "Just look at the
cleaning procedures. We validate them in a
worst case scenario three times before we
are positive that these procedures can get
into every-day operation." In terms of quality
and hygiene, Sachsenmilch claim they
are ranking amongst the Top 2 in Europe.
In terms of quantity, Mr. Derks said, Sachsenmilch
rank in the Top 3 of the European
whey processors.
(photo: UTM)