On May 20, 2023, Mane Kancor launched its biggest manufacturing facility located in Byadgi, Karnataka, India. The facility, which spreads around 50 acres of land, will generate more employment and create indirect opportunities for many people, including farmers.
The Byadgi facility is the main growing belt for high-color varieties of chili and is part of the Make-In-India program of the government of India. The facility contains a super-critical fluid extraction plant that uses carbon dioxide as an extraction medium.
The eco-friendly site is envisioned based on the company’s strategy of putting manufacturing facility closer to the growing regions. Apart from chili, the facility at Byadgi, is said to be able to handle the processing of wide varieties of raw materials like rosemary and other spices. Another specialty of the facility is zero waste management system. The entire biomass generated during production is converted to the fuel used in the boilers and the gas generated from the effluent treatment is used in the industry canteen. The water from effluent treatment is used for irrigation purpose.
The expansion of the existing Byadgi unit by setting up a totally new green field project is a part of the expansion plans announced during the Golden Jubilee celebration of Mane Kancor in 2019.
Jean Mane shared, ''Our vision is to consolidate the bulk production in a single location to simplify processes and ensure efficient management. We are all the more glad about the launch as it will raise the production capacity of the company fourfold along with a 50 percent rise in direct employment. Also, will be generating opportunities for more than 10,000 people including farmers across four states–Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Kerala. Interestingly, the new plant occupies just one-third of the land in Byadgi. Hence, our scope for expansion is higher.”
Geemon Korah, Ph.D., executive director and CEO of Mane Kancor, “Mane Kancor was the first company to set up a spice extraction unit in India, in 1969. Today, we have the new infrastructure covering 150,000 square feet around 50 acres of land, in Byadgi. The new plant supports both the development of our scientific manufacturing techniques and the addition of cutting-edge technologies to our business continuity strategy thereby stretching our manufacturing potential. Our focus on segments like natural colors, natural antioxidants, personal care ingredients and so on will be enhanced with the new addition."