Industrial Visit to SAMI LABS, Kunigal

Industry Visited: Sami Labs Ltd., Plot No. 40-41 & 30-35, KIADB Industrial Area, Tumkur District, Kunigal 572130

Date of Visit: 11.09.2018

A batch of 5^th Semester Chemical Engineering students (40 of them) and two staff coordinators visited the Kunigal branch of SAMI LABS, on 11.9.2018. Sami Labs is a pharmaceutical company which is involved in the manufacture of cosmetics, herbal products and dietary supplements. The unit that the students visited is focusing mainly on the manufacture of raw materials for further formulations.

Dr. K.N. Devaraj Reddy, Vice President and Kunigal Unit Head, addressed the students, providing a brief introduction about SAMI LABS. He explained about the functioning of the Kunigal Unit. After this session, the students were taken on a plant tour, in two batches, each group being headed by a faculty member. The Process Engineer accompanied the groups. Both the batches were taken to the Production unit and Quality Control unit. The Process Engineer gave details on the safety measures, and dos and don’ts that are followed in the industry. Later, he briefed the students about each equipment, their designing, functioning and safety measures.

The following equipment were viewed and understood:

1. Extractor and extraction process
2. Evaporator functioning and design
3. Distillation column (Steel and Glass lined)
4. Types of supports
5. Filtration and Separation units (Centrifugal)
6. Spray drying and cyclone separator
7. Boiler Section
8. Effluent treatment plant
9. Quality control (HPLC, GC and UV spectrometer)

During this session, students interacted with the Engineer, effectively. They were particularly interested and curious about the raw materials, functioning of the equipment, codes used in industries, safety measures, end products, quality control etc. During the plant tour, students gained practical knowledge about the handling of the raw materials that have different characteristics and properties. In the Quality Control unit, students were exposed to aspects like Gas Chromatography, High performance liquid chromatography and UV spectroscopic.

The visit concluded with the warm hospitality of SAMI LABS, with tea and biscuits. The students left SAMI LABS by 3.00 pm and reached college by 7.00 pm.

This trip was highly useful for the students, in terms of gaining practical knowledge about the organization and operation of chemical process industries. This trip will also be helpful for them in future, to find internships, project assignments and placement opportunities in such industries.

We express our thanks to the Management, Principal, Vice-Principal and Head of Department, for permitting and arranging the industrial visit. We owe our gratitude to the faculty members too, for accompanying the students to the venue and being supportive. It was a great learning and exploring experience, and a highly educative one too.

Outcome of the event

The Industrial Visit to SAMI LABS presented the students with an opportunity to acquire an active and interactive learning experience about the practical applications of the subjects they are studying, and about industrial culture and operation. They could visualise how their theoretical knowledge could be put into practice. The students gained awareness regarding the industry practices and regulations. This broadened their outlook, to identify their prospective areas of work in the overall organizational function.