Sunspray, the Jo-burg-based specialist spray-­drying ingredients company, has unveiled its newly revamped R&D lab on its Industria manufacturing campus.

The lab – incubator of all its spray-­drying innovation – has been upgraded onto its own floor.

"This was achieved by casting a mezzanine floor over the Quality Control laboratory where it used to be housed, providing a much larger space in which cutting‐edge and professional work can flourish," comments MD, David Watson.

"Our brand new facility now houses a large, modern laboratory area for bench and application work, pilot plant and sample preparation, as well as organoleptic evaluation. In fact, the latter can now be conducted under perfect conditions in the new tasting room that has customised, state-­of-­the-­art tasting booths and serving hatches."

A new temperature and humidity chamber further allows for accelerated shelf-life testing and establishing stability of products. With a modern workstation for the R&D staff, paperwork can now be handled in a central area.

An elegant new meeting room provides the perfect environment for customers meetings  – just adjacent to the temperature controlled storeroom that houses all the raw materials, ingredients and samples used in R&D applications.

"The modern décor of the lab has an ambiance of cleanliness and warmth rather than clinical sterility - it will now be a pleasure to show off our capabilities to existing customers and potential new clients in such a convivial atmosphere,” adds Watson.

Sunspray's Industria site has been home to food manufacturing since 1944 and to spray‐drying since 1958.

Sunspray: www.sunspray.co.za