Godrej Appliances has recently launched Godrej Medical Refrigerators with an aim to reduce the vaccine and blood wastage in India. The company has entered into the partnership with UK based The Sure Chill Company to design and manufacture the medical refrigerators using Sure Chill technology. The specialised medical refrigerators have been designed especially to address a key need of providing precise cooling for preserving vaccines used worldwide in immunisation programmes and for the storage of blood in blood banks.
Sure Chill's technology helps maintain the optimum temperature range of 2 - 8 degrees celsius - a necessity for vaccine preservation and blood storage. The refrigerator maintains its temperature even in case of power outages for as long as 13 days in ambient temperatures of 43°C. In regions without electric supply, the system can be teamed with solar power to deliver the same results, thereby, making it a perfect fit for global immunisation needs and reduce the number of vaccine and blood wastage in country.
Godrej, making its first foray into the healthcare space, has signed a technology transfer agreement with The Sure Chill Company Ltd. (UK) to develop and manufacture these refrigerators for sale in India and neighboring markets covering SAARC and MENA countries including Pakistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal, Saudi Arabia, UAE among others. At present the refrigerators will be manufactured in Godrej's Mumbai plant which has the capacity to produce 10,000 units annually.
Recently, the company has installed 13 medical refrigerators in West Bengal and 50 more will be installed in Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Meghalaya.
Kamal Nandi, business head and executive vice president, Godrej Appliances says, "Godrej Appliances has built its expertise in refrigeration over the years. The brand is synonymous with trust and is therefore, best placed to enter a category like medical refrigeration, which delivers critical care. In line with our commitment to a greener planet, we are proud to state that the Godrej medical refrigerators are the world's 1st and only green ILR’s currently available.”
He further adds, “Leveraging our core capabilities in the cooling space and our deep understanding of Indian conditions, we have been able to increase the holdover time of the vaccine refrigerators by 30 per cent We have introduced built in voltage stabilizer and spike guard to take care of voltage fluctuations common to developing countries and also ensured superior performance of the vaccine refrigerator by building in an early intelligent warning system. Our 57 years of existence in the cooling industry coupled with an extensive service network in the country positions us to deliver quick and reliable service to this critical healthcare business."
Godrej Sure Chill will be available in two model variants, 100 liters- priced between Rs. 1.35 lakh to Rs. 1.5 lakhs, and 50 liters-priced between Rs. 65,000 to Rs. 75,000. These medical refrigerators meet strict specifications laid down by WHO and are listed as PQS prequalified (Performance, Quality and Safety standards).