Say Hello to the New Milkman

Say Hello to the New Milkman: Parker and Valio Work Toward Carbon Neutral Milk

While many of us appreciate having fresh milk with cereal, cream in our coffee or a bowl of ice cream, few think about how our favorite dairy products arrive at our table—or the environmental impact they might have along the way.

That is, unless you’re a Valio customer. The Finnish manufacturer is owned by a collective of dairy farmers. It produces 85% of Finland’s milk and sells to nearly 60 countries. But with over 300 patents, it’s also one of the most innovative and sustainable companies in the world. And Valio, a Parker customer, has set an ambitious goal to provide carbon neutral milk by 2035.

“We started working with Valio on their milk delivery trucks seven years ago,” explains Ari Puranen, Application Engineering Manager, SC Nordics. “The company owns its own fleet and needed a better way to pump milk from the farm tanks to the truck and from the truck to the dairy.”

Parker designed a hydraulic pump system that was implemented on the entire fleet of 80 trucks. But when it came time to renew those trucks in operation in 2022, Valio brought new sustainability challenges to the Parker team, led by applications engineer Jaakko Laitila and sales development engineer Ville Karlsson:

“Our goal was to enable more accurate measurement of the milk,” says Puranen. “The farmers are paid per liter so they have to be very precise. So we implemented IoT (Internet of Things) and upgraded the system with Parker’s IQAN software so the communication between the dairy and the farm is clear and invoicing is smoother.”

While the first solution relied on a conventional hydraulic pump and was designed to work with Valio’s diesel-operated trucks, the team’s new Parker ePump System uses an electric motor to rotate the pump.

“It still works as a pump but now our system is also working as a generator, using waste energy for pumping and to power the batteries,” adds Puranen. “It is zero consumption and power source independent.”

Now, for the first time, the milk Valio collects from its producers is pumped using "loss energy" from each truck, requiring zero fuel. The measurement of pumped milk is more accurate and reliable than ever. Parker’s IQAN technology has enabled Valio to accelerate progress towards its sustainability goals, save money on fuel and ensure milk producers get paid fairly. For Puranen and the Parker team, that’s nearly as satisfying as a tall glass of fresh, cold milk:

“Delivering milk is something everybody can relate to, can understand. When we have a new team member telling someone what they do, when we talk about Purpose— yes, it’s pumps and fittings but it’s great to be able to connect to something tangible. This is what we do, we bring milk to your table.”