Nitta Gelatin lists out green steps

Nitta Gelatin India Limited (NGIL), manufacturer of chemical products, today said the company was committed to protecting the interests of all its stakeholders, especially the community around its manufacturing locations.

Addressing a press conference here, Sajiv K Menon, managing director, said their products were among the essential ingredients of pharmaceutical industry, including many of the lifesaving drugs. "Our value-added products like gelatin and collagen peptide are already holding tremendous growth opportunities, he added.

Responding to a report on the high court-ordered study by the National Environment Engineering Research Institute (Neeri), he said they would take measures to implement all the recommendations put forward by the study to further improve the efficacy of environment management systems.

Menon listed several measures undertaken by the company, including a new biogas plant biofilters to control odor, a new set of bag filters set up in the di calcium phosphate plant to eliminate dust and the technology developed for converting the sludge into a valuable crop nutrient. "We have spent around Rs 8.41 crore for such pollution control measures during 2008 to 2014 at the ossein division alone," he added.

The company has established a greenbelt in tie-up with the Kerala Forest Research Institute. It has put up an online display screen at the main entrance of the ossein factory to continuously display the Ph value of the treated-water being discharged.

According to the recommendation by the expert committee constituted by the Kerala government, a continuous air monitoring system has also been set up here. The company has implemented all the recommendations made by this committee except cleaning the Chalakkudy river shore near the discharge point of the factory. The application seeking the necessary permission in this regard made by the company is currently under consideration of the irrigation department, he said.

Nitta Gelatin is one of the first Indo-Japanese joint ventures in India, incorporated in 1975, even before the Maruti Suzuki Project. At present, NGIL has four plants in the country - two in Kerala and one each in Maharashtra and Gujarat. In addition to the Kathikudam Plant, NGIL's second plant in Kerala at the Kinfra Export Promotion Industrial Park in Kakkanad, Kochi, manufactures value-added products like gelatin and collagen peptide. The Japanese company Nitta Gelatin Inc holds 43 per cent equity stake in the company while KSIDC holds 32 per cent and the remaining 25 per cent are with the public.