Top SPX exec 'encouraged' by multinational and local dairy demand in China
Speaking in the aftermath of SPX's recent major contract win - a $40m (€30.2m) deal to kit out Bright Dairy's new facility in Shanghai, Rodi told this publication that China was amongst SPX's fastest growing markets, both in terms of full-line systems and component products across all food and beverage offerings.
He said: "We have grown our local engineering capabilities over the past several years in China to support the local market needs. We have seen increasing demand from not only multinational companies but also local food and beverage manufacturers who are increasingly focused on quality and the latest technologies."
We asked Rodi how North Carolina-based SPX perceived potential sales opportunities within the dairy industry specifically, worldwide?
He said: "We are encouraged by recent successes in dairy and we remain encouraged by the outlook in this particular area in the future.
"Much of the demand for dairy products will come from emerging regions such as China and the Middle east where dairy products are becoming important parts of the diets of young people but where traditional fresh milk and powered milk has not been traditionally available."
Dairy integral to youth diets
SPX's product offering was especially suited to dairy applications, Rodi said: "Not only can we provide a wide range of products to support the production of fresh milk but also can provide solutions to support dry powered milk and infant formulas.
"In more developed markets, our customers are focused on improved profitability of their operations. Investments in developed regions are focused in improving plant performance through optimization of existing equipment or consolidation of older facilities to improve the cost position of their products on the shelf," he added.
Key emerging markets - aside from China - where SPX was seeing growth across food and beverage sectors included the Asia Pacific, Middle East, India and South America, Rodi said.
And questioned about what kind of machinery and processing solutions were in demand within emerging dairy markets, Rodi said that fresh and dry milk powder production would need to increase in the upcoming years to meet the growing demand in these regions.
