In December 2015, Danone and Veolia formed an innovative alliance in view of optimizing the management of natural resources. The two global companies, each leader in their respective field, share the same values in wanting to create and develop circular economies. The strategic partnership covers all aspects of the water cycle, waste management, sustainable agriculture and energy efficiency. This project in Wuxi, China is a contribution towards better water management at Danone’s production sites.
“We recognized the fact that Veolia has a wealth of professional experience in the pharma and nutrition industry, and felt confident sharing with them our water handling requirements,” shared Philip GUO, Supply Point Director, GM of Nutricia Pharmaceutical (Wuxi) Co., Ltd. “Our Veolia contacts communicated well with us and were responsive to requests. Their strong teamwork was clear from the start, as we received well-coordinated key account management support from Veolia headquarters in France, and also from the team in China.”
The main component of Veolia’s turnkey solution will be a 15 ton/hr reverse osmosis (RO) system, combined with a multimedia filter, softener, activated carbon filter, and continuous electro deionisation (CEDI) technologies. This comprehensive solution will allow Danone Nutricia to expand its purified water capacity by up to 88%. Recycling the concentrated water following reverse osmosis is expected to save over 85,000 cubic meters of water each year, translating to tens of thousands of euros in savings and contributing to Danone’s goal of halving its carbon emissions by 2030 and becoming carbon neutral by 2050.Another key benefit of the Veolia solution was its suitability for the space constraints within the Nutricia plant. The compact design of the custom-built system fit well within the limited space available. The project began in August 2017 and is due to complete by January 2018.
James PENG, Solutions Director, Veolia Water Technologies, China, said, “Danone Nutricia is a leading medical nutrition provider with a growing presence in this market. They chose Veolia as a close working partner to meet the increasing market demands of the medical nutrition industry in China. Specifically, Danone Nutricia wanted to improve the production sterilization control within their Wuxi plant, and selected Veolia’s technologies as its preferred solution to mitigate the risks involved in expanding their facilities. We are happy to be an integral part of their expansion plans and look forward to future opportunities to support them with Veolia solutions that will suit their needs”