WAVE is trusted by clients to deliver custom-engineered freeze-drying systems tailored for unique environments, materials, and production requirements. Many of these machines have been successfully built and deployed; others remain in prototype or concept stages.
Explore a selection of these specialized models here. If you’re interested in a custom freeze-drying solution or need a system designed for a specific application, we invite you to get in touch with us.
Tigernuts from GhanaTigernuts are used in rural areas mainly as animal feed, while in Europe they are known as an ingredient in Chufa or Horchata. Our customers grind and extract milk from the Tigernuts, using a simple mixer for production. After this, the tigermilk is dried in our machine. The resulting powder is an efficient and high-quality way to produce tigermilk, lasting for years and easy to ship.
Traditionally, the nuts are shipped to Spain, for example, where from 1kg of nuts, about 7 liters of drink is produced. The remains of the nuts are discarded, and a significant portion of the finished product is also wasted, as it lasts only about 24 hours. Financially, the farmer earns 1 EUR per kg of nuts, while customers pay between 25 and 120 EUR for 7 liters of fresh Horchata in Europe.
When produced in Ghana, the situation changes significantly. The price for the powder, if traditionally dried, is about 20 EUR, and up to 70 EUR if freeze-dried. The cost of the material remains at 1 EUR, but now, about 90% of the material can still be used as fertilizer or animal feed. The cost of freeze-drying 1 kg of material is about another 1 EUR. Farmers could sell to wholesalers or directly to customers via Etsy, Instagram, etc., shipping directly and potentially increasing their revenue by up to 2500% compared to selling the nuts directly.
