R670m Durban food plant, a green first for Unilever

'Indonsa' (Zulu for 'Morning Star') produces well-known food brands such as Knorrox, Knorr, Rajah and Robertsons.

The 22 000m² technically and environmentally advanced facility is also Unilever's second-largest plant worldwide and a global first for the group in terms of its focus on advanced sustainable "green" technology. It is able to produce 65 000 t/y of products, but has been designed to be expanded to 100 000 t/y in future, which would make it Unilever's single largest savoury foods-producing factory globally. The group operates 250 plants selling about 170-billion products yearly in 180 countries.

Indonsa was developed as a model plant for replication in other Unilever factories and is in line with the Unilever's aim to "globally reduce CO² emissions from manufacturing and logistics by over 40% by 2020 [...] at a rate of almost 5% a year". According to Engineering News, the plant's environmental strategy is based on the three pillars of water neutrality, zero waste and energy efficiency. In a bid to be a 'zero-waste' facility, Indonsa's solid waste is reused so that nothing is added to landfills. Energy efficiency has been achieved through the use of state-of-the-art energy efficient machinery, by using natural lighting, where possible, and by deploying energy efficient lighting.

Read the full article on www.engineeringnews.co.za.