UAE camel dairy extends into British milking technology

Al Ain Dairy, the largest dairy producer and leading dairy brand in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), has announced plans to make an investment in new camel milking facilities to deliver long-term supply security and improved milked quality.

For the last few years, Al Ain Dairy, has been actively supporting the research necessary to radically improve the mass production of UAE camel milk and has vastly increased the size of its herd from 800 to 2,500 camels. Earlier this year the company invested 800,000 AED in state of the art machinery to elevate local bacteria testing to the highest standards to guarantee the quality and excellence that Al Ain Dairy is renowned for.

Now in a bid to further improve production efficiency and milk hygiene, the company – in its 30th anniversary year – has invested in the latest camel milking parlour technology with British technology partners Fullwood Limited.

Chief Operations Officer for Al Ain Dairy, Shashi Menon, said: "Much has been made recently of the global increase in demand for camel milk and there is no doubt that Al Ain Dairy is actively preparing for this increase in international consumption.

"For the last three decades we have led the way in terms of technology in order to maintain our policy of achieving excellence, quality and safety in all aspects of our operations and have looked to work with the best possible partners to help us achieve this.

"We are proud to be associated with Fullwood Limited who have been designing and manufacturing milking equipment for the worldwide market for the last 70 years and who are now installing a state of the art camel milking parlour that will take our production to the next level."

Al Ain Dairy has not only been active in the UAE camel milk market, but is has also increasingly asked to contribute its experience to the wider Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC). "As a result of this exposure we are poised to develop a wide range of camel milk products for the international market," Shashi added. "We have very ambitious plans for the future which include delivering more new and innovative products that meet with the demands and tastes of our consumers and which also brace the health challenges of our region. Investing in new technology, such as that being supplied by Fullwood Limited will allow us to do just that."

Fullwood Limited, part of the Fullwood Packo Group, is a leading designer, supplier and manufacturer of milking systems and milk storage for the global dairy industry and has been working with farmers in the UK and across the world for more than 70 years. They designed and installed the world’s first mechanised camel milking facility in UAE in 2006.

The new parlour, which is due to be commissioned later this year, consists of a pair of double-12 herringbone parlours which will be equipped with Fullwood’s unique camel stalls and milking clusters. All associated equipment, including the plant’s milk cooling system, will be housed in cellars below the facility to protect milk and equipment from the intense heat and dust storms that dominate the region.

A full parlour back-up system consisting of standby pumps and compressors is also being installed due to the remoteness and inaccessibility of the site.

The parlour will improve milk quality and consistency, as well as reducing the number of staff required to milk the herd: the herd of 2500 camels is currently milked three times a day by a team of 16 people who work from 4:00am to 9:00 pm with two breaks of two hours. The new system will allow the herd size to increase while reducing the number of people required to carry out the milking duties to 12.

John Baines, Technical Director of Fullwood Limited, commented: "Fullwood is very privileged to be part of this exciting and innovative project. The Al Ain camel parlour installation requires Fullwood’s expertise in specialised milking systems and control mechanisms as well as utilising Packo’s experience in providing customised cooling solutions. It is a great opportunity to work with the Al Ain team to improve milking efficiency, product consistency and put in place a bespoke milking facility which will support increased milk production for years to come."