The Silicon Review ^Asia

The poultry industry feeds hundreds of millions of people across the globe each year, while providing employment and sustainability to millions more. In addition to the actual meat and eggs, processed egg extracts and its derivatives are used across a wide range of applications in numerous products in the Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) industry. Some popular fast food products to contain poultry or its derivatives include packaged cakes, mayonnaise, sausages, biscuits, cookies, bakery mixes, meals ready-to-eat, and so on.

Operating one of the world’s largest egg processing plants in the world is a company named SKM Egg Products Export Limited.

Founded in 1996 by an ambitious entrepreneur, SKM today has grown to become one of the leading manufacturers of egg powder in the world, boasting of a capacity to process nearly two million eggs a day to churn out an astounding 6500 tonnes of egg powder each year. Additionally, the company also manufactures various egg products such as Egg Powder, Pasteurized Egg Liquid, Egg Cubes, and Eggpro energy protein drink. In the Egg powder segment, there are three subcategories i.e. Whole Egg Powder, Egg Yolk Powder and

Egg Albumen Powder. SKM exports its products to 24 countries including some in Europe as well as Japan, Russia and other Middle Eastern countries and earns substantial volume of valuable foreign exchange for India.

Producing extracts in such vast quantities of egg is no small feat and it is for this reason that SKM operates its very own poultry farm that houses over six million birds that lay over four and a half million eggs every year. Furthermore, the company acquires an additional 1.3 million eggs from numerous allied poultry farms across a vast geographic region. All of this is channeled to produce pasteurized egg liquid, egg cubes, various types of egg powders, etc.

When it comes to fast food and relevant industries, maintaining hygiene is one of the most important aspects of running daily operations. SKM ensures the highest levels of quality and safety of its raw materials with the backward integration of its layer farms and feed mills. Moreover, its poultry farms carry an ISO 22000 certification and are protected by a comprehensive bio-security system.

SKM is a registered establishment as per the norms of the European Union. Its range of products is functionally superior, blends well with other ingredients and widely used in various food applications.

The company is headquartered in Tamil Nadu, India.

SKM Egg Products Limited: Synopsis

Production Facility: Complying with International Regulatory Measures

SKM’s production facility is constructed and its machinery installed with a strict adherence to EU/USDA regulations, as mentioned above. The plant is approved by EIC - EIA as per the Indian Act “Export of Egg Products Quality Control, Inspection and Monitoring Rules 1997 Act based on EU/ USDA Guide lines”.

The company has three product lines, one for yolk based products and another for egg albumen and third one is Whole Egg. The eggs are processed in a modern, fully automated factory using state-of-the-art equipment. The factory is fully air conditioned and positive pressure is maintained in sterile zones. A fully automatic CIP system has been employed for cleaning the tanks and pipelines. As an additional step towards complying with safety standards, the utilities are housed in a separate building to eliminate the possibility of any contaminants in the processing area. The effluent generated is treated and put to use in accordance with the environmental norms to make processing eco-friendly.

SKM Egg Products leaves no stone unturned when it comes to maintaining hygienic means of production. It ensures that there is regular disinfection procedures carried out of the premises and the workers entering the production area are required to take mandatory showers on campus. Moreover, all the clothing worn by the workmen are disinfected on a regular basis. Routine swabs are taken on the process equipment, floors, walls, and the personnel. Periodical monitoring of the possibility of air contamination is done by Gravimetric plate exposure method.

The Quality Assurance (QA) Department at SKM has a full-fledged Physio-chemical, Microbiological and Residue laboratory managed by a qualified team of trained Chemists and Microbiologists to monitor the raw material (eggs, additives and chemicals) packing materials, work in process stages, and finished products. The prime function of the QA Department is to detect deviation from good manufacturing practices, to assure conformation to criteria and to detect contaminants. The laboratory closely monitors the Safety Control Critical Points (SCCP) and Functional Critical Control Points (FCCP) including personnel hygiene as a part of HACCP, as mentioned above.

Meet the driving force behind the success of SKM Egg Products, SKM. Shree Shivkumar

SKM Shree Shivkumar serves as the CEO and Managing Director of SKM Egg Products Export. Under his leadership, the company enjoyed a substantial growth from 3500 MT to 6500 MT per annum, expanding the company to export to various countries around the world. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Mechanical Engineering and has an extensive 25 years of experience in civil, mechanical, poultry feed industry, wind mill, and food processing industries.

He is also the President of Indian Egg Processors Association and former President of the CII (Confederation of Indian Industry), CEO of SKM Universal Marketing Company India Private Limited and SKM Siddha and Ayurvedha (India) Private Limited.

For his outstanding leadership with dedication, the company has received the SILVER TROPHY Award from APEDA Since 2001 & Golden Trophy from 2011 onwards, Manufacturing Excellence SILVER AWARD in 2006 by FROST AND SULLIVAN, Manufacturing Excellence GOLD AWARD in 2007 & 2008 by FROST AND SULLIVAN, BEST EXPORT PERFORMANCE AWARDS in 100% EOU – 2007-2008 by Govt. of Tamil Nadu, STATE SAFETY AWARD in 2007 by Directorate of Industrial Safety and Health, Govt. of Tamil Nadu and Export Excellence Award for achieving the highest export turnover during 2010-2011 & 2011- 2012 in the food & agriculture sector from MEPZ, Govt. of India.

“SKM egg products started the journey of eggcellence in 1996 with the state of the art production facility comprising best of technology and methods which are in line with international level.”