Portable 'SuperEx' helps fast-track business

Inspecting an existing in-house supercritical extraction plant at Industrial Research.

Known as ‘SuperEx’, the portable plant will use a supercritical extraction process to produce samples of high-value new products using material largely native to New Zealand – and its portability will allow the process to occur at any registered facility in New Zealand.

The plant has been designed by engineers at Industrial Research and levers off extensive expertise in supercritical extraction – a process that uses CO₂ and other gases at high pressure, to extract the goodness from natural materials.

Because the extraction process leaves no solvent residue, it is ideal for producing high-value products for skin care applications with enhanced healing properties or foods with speciality natural ingredients.

Industrial Research’s business development manager, Tom Nicolle, says companies currently battle stringent compliance regulations when trying to advance such products and SuperEx helps cut through some of that.

“It’s really about enabling New Zealand industry faster access to the market.

“Typically, functional food and cosmeceutical companies have already gone through all the compliance and regulatory steps required for operation. It’s a real setback for them when new products in the R&D stage are not able to be produced in the same environment and so can’t be properly tested by their potential clients.

“But to date it’s been one of those necessary evils that both sides have had to accept simply in order to get on with business.

“Producing sufficient sample runs of products is a crucial part of the process — without it, it’s a huge risk for companies to just skip straight to mass production”.

SuperEx will be available for hire so that companies can use it within an environment that is already registered as complying with the relevant food processing and/or cosmetics regulations.

With nearly half a million dollars invested, Industrial Research has commissioned Lower Hutt company, Acme Engineering, to manufacture key components for the plant.

Plans are in place to have the first SuperEx in operation by mid 2007 and with New Zealand bookings stacking up and business prospects looming in Australia, a second SuperEx may not be far away.