Mumbai, August 08, 2015: Godrej Appliances, one of the leading players in the Home Appliances industry, in partnership with The UK based The Sure Chill Company, has launched the ‘Godrej medical refrigerators with Sure Chill technology’. These specialised medical refrigerators have been designed especially to address a key need of providing precise cooling for preserving vaccines used worldwide in immunization programs and for the storage of blood in blood banks.
Immunization is one of the most basic and effective health interventions. Unfortunately, one in five children is still deprived of these basic defenses for the most prevalent diseases, particularly in developing countries. Large populations and fragile infrastructures make these children difficult to reach. Many developing countries have inadequate ‘cold chains’ – which means that optimal temperature control mechanisms for the transport, storage and handling of vaccines are not in place. According to a research estimate, approximately 151 million vaccines, equivalent to approximately$750 million, are lost annually due to improper refrigeration in developing countries. {Source: Visible Thinking – Duke Undergraduate research society. http://undergraduateresearch.duke.edu}
Sure Chill’s revolutionary technology helps maintain the optimum temperature range of 2 – 8 degrees Celsius – a necessity for vaccine preservation and blood storage. This refrigerator maintains its temperature even in case of power outages for as long as 8-12 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.
Godrej, making its first foray into the healthcare space, has signed a technology transfer agreement with The Sure Chill Company Ltd. (UK) to develop & 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.
The partnership between the two companies brings together Godrej’s decades of expertise in refrigeration technology and Sure Chill’s in-depth technical expertise in medical refrigeration, to create a revolutionary product that will help governments across the world in their immunization efforts to save millions of lives.
Commenting on the launch, Mr. Kamal Nandi, Business Head and EVP, Godrej Appliances, said, “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 1 st and only green ILR’s currently available.”
This venture brings alive the Make-in-India call voiced by the honorable Prime Minister of India, an ethos Godrej has believed in since inception. “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%. 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,” he added.
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) products on its website. CCI Newswire
