TV channel “Kuban 24” announced the meeting of the Governor of Krasnodar Region Veniamin Kondratyev with investors of Starch plant Gulkevichsky in relation to the official launch of production of maltodextrin (starch sugar). The leaders discussed plans for a long-term cooperation between the company and the region. The head of the Region assured the participants that he was prepared to help the plant to increase its production capacity. It is planned that the production shop in Gulkevichsky district will completely cover the Russian demand in this food additive.
Maltodextrin is obtained from corn. At the final stage of production, the substance looks like a tasteless and odourless white powder. It may take a few minutes to list its areas of application. These include all spheres of the food industry, including baby food as well as pharmaceuticals, where it forms a part of creams and toothpastes, and even the production of dry building mixes. Previously, the additive was imported from China and Europe, but the demand for Kuban maltodextrin is rapidly increasing throughout Russia. After all, while maintaining excellent product quality, it is cheaper than foreign counterparts, which ultimately can have a positive impact on the cost of products as a whole.
‘The ability to produce maltodextrin today in our Region makes your company a strategic facility not only for our region, but also, probably, for the whole Russia,’ highlighted the Governor, while addressing to the shareholders of the plant. ‘Because, firstly, you produce it from our domestic raw materials, and secondly, you are the only ones to do so today.’ Therefore, it is essentially that such production appeared. This is exactly what we call the import substitution.
In Russia this is the first shop for the production of maltodextrin with such modern equipment, and the production is fully automated and corresponds to the international counterparts. High-tech equipment records all stages: from the shipment of grain to the receipt of the actual component. The dosage of enzymes, temperature conditions, the work of pumps and mixers - all these are monitored by the computer, and only then – the operator. Thus, the influence of human factor is minimized. In case of an emergency, the robot tells the operator which exact action to take.
To ensure flawless operation of automated technology, foreign specialists were specifically invited to the production facility. At the moment the system is being monitored by the Managing Director of the Danish Institute of Starch Products Jens Tomsan. He confirms: ‘This is a unique product, and it was first made here in Russia. Everything we produce at this factory can be put on the table.’
The other thing that strikes is the scale of production. For example, for drying substances we use the facility with a height matching a 10-storey building. Experts are unanimous that such industrial lines bring the entire agricultural and industrial sector of Kuban to a new level.
Deputy Governor of Krasnodar Region Andrei Korobka confirms: ‘The first produced batches are in great demand, and we see that the product is actively sought after. We are ready to create such full cycle production facilities throughout the Region, to ensure stability and independence of the region, regardless of any cataclysms.’
Starch factory Gulkevichsky is the largest facility of this kind in the country in terms of production of multi-component and its capacity can not only meet the demand for maltodextrin in Russia, but also enable the plant to enter foreign markets with their product. In addition to maltodextrin, the plant produces four types of molasses, gluten and feeds.
‘I can say with confidence that the quality of products is excellent,’ emphasizes the shareholder of the Starch factory Gulkevichsky Ivan Tyryshkin, ‘therefore, the market buys our products, and we are loading our production facility. As early as in the first quarter of next year, this line will reach its full capacity.’
