Refrigeration major Godrej, which has been manufacturing in India since 1957, on Monday ventured into a new segment as it launched enterprise refrigeration units for vaccines and blood banks in association with Sure Chill Technology.
Sure Chill is a Britain-based company that has patented the use of a disruptive method of refrigeration that does not need constant power for refrigeration and guarantees maintenance of the best suited temperature of 4 degrees Celsius.
Godrej is the only manufacturer for products that will be using Sure Chill's technology, which the British firm claims has been backed by the Unicef, WHO and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
Both companies signed a licence contract to take the business engagement forward.
The units will be made out of a Pune-based facility that will have the capacity of producing 10,000 to 15,000 units a year.
"The operations can be ramped up to 35,000 units if there is a increase in demand in the market," said Godrej Appliances' executive vice president Kamal Nandi.
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"We are looking to export the refrigerators as well. Our immediate neighbours Africa will be on top of the list," Nandi added.
The refrigeration units, which will come in four models including AC and DC power sources, will be sold at a price band starting from Rs.50,000 to Rs.2.5 lakh.
"A lot of pilots are being conducted right now and we have sold 11 units to the West Bengal government," Nandi said.
According to the WHO, one child dies every 20 seconds from a disease preventable by vaccination and 151 million vaccines, valued around $750 million, are lost annually due to improper refrigeration in developing countries.