One of Ireland’s largest dairy groups has invested in several analytical systems from the Danish supplier Q-Interline. The order reflects a growing trend in which analytical equipment is increasingly procured as integrated packages covering both laboratory and production environments.

The Danish-owned company Q-Interline has entered into an agreement to supply multiple analytical systems to an Irish dairy cooperative. The customer is among the largest players in Ireland’s dairy sector and processes more than two billion litres of milk annually from 3,200 producers.

Expanding an existing setup
The order includes laboratory-based analytical systems using FT-NIR technology and represents an expansion of an existing collaboration. The dairy group has previously implemented two DairyQuant units, and the new investment is the result of a long-term market development effort in Ireland carried out in cooperation with a local distributor.

According to a company announcement from Q-Interline, the new systems may lead to further integration of measuring equipment directly into the dairy group’s production lines.

Commenting on the order, Per Sand, VP Sales Nordic, Ireland and the UK, states:

– Being selected as the preferred supplier is a strong seal of approval and clearly demonstrates the growing demand for Q-Interline’s solutions. At the same time, the order opens up opportunities for the dairy group to increase direct, in-line measurements in production using our InSight Pro process analysers, which can optimise quality and efficiency across the entire production setup.

Changing purchasing patterns in the industry
Sales in Ireland form part of a broader development that Q-Interline is currently observing across the dairy sector. Whereas it was previously common to purchase one analytical system at a time, the company now sees a growing number of orders comprising multiple systems simultaneously.

According to Q-Interline, this trend reflects the increasing integration of analytical technology as a core element of dairies’ overall quality and production setups, driven by steadily rising requirements for documentation and process optimisation.

Today, the Irish dairy group exports high-value products to more than 100 markets and also has operations in, among other places, the United States.

By Maja Løvstrup
Photo: Colourbox