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Himalaya to get patent for waste conversion technology

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Komal Amit Gera Chandigarh
Last Updated : Feb 14 2013 | 7:09 PM IST
Paonta Sahib-based Himalaya International, which pioneered the recycling of waste generated by mushroom cultivation in the country, is all set to get the patent for its technology in the international market. Himalaya International informed the BSE that the company is close to finalising a deal to sell the rights of its organic manure technology to a US-based mushroom & food processing giant for $5 million.
 
Under the deal, the US company will market the technology in the US, Canada and Latin America. The US mushroom industry already has a major issue with slow degradation of huge piles of spent mushroom substrate (SMS) that takes as long as two years to become usable by farms and nurseries beside spoiling ground water.
 
Manmohan Malik, chief executive of the company, said that they use bio-dynamic process for the disposal of spent mushroom substrate by converting it into fragrant manure with a good demand in international market. The company has been manufacturing manure through this process since last one year and saved about Rs 40 lakh in a year, said Malik.
 
The company presented this technology at the 2nd International SMS Symposium held on September 17- 20, at Concordville (US), which was organised by the Penn State University and the American Mushroom Institute (AMI). The new technology was developed after three years of research, which the company carried for the disposal of spent mushroom substrate (SMS) and in the process converted it into organic manure. The new process ensures faster breaking down of effluents by adopting a bio-dynamic composting technique. The company now plans to convert all the organic waste from its food processing operations as well as from newly installed cheese unit into organic manure rich in essential nutrients for plant growth.
 
The company has embarked on an ambitious plan to use organic manure by its contract farmers in Himachal Pradesh and expects robust earnings from the dissemination of this technology. The company introduced mushroom-stuffed samosa in the US market. It also plans to launch frozen mushroom soup later this year. Himalaya expects to generate nearly Rs 100 crore from its new technology over the next two years from the US markets alone.
 
 

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First Published: Oct 10 2006 | 12:00 AM IST

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