A �250,000 contract to supply specialist freezing equipment to a food processing plant in India has been won by Lowestoft firm Starfrost.

Starfrost will supply a quick freezing system for a 141-acre food processing facility in the Chittoor district of Andhra Pradesh in south east India.

Starfrost secured the contract from Srini Food Park, a new venture backed by India's Ministry of Food Processing Industries as part of a strategy to develop facilities around the country for farmers and food producers.

The contract will see Starfrost design and manufacture a fast-freezing tunnel for diced mango, which will then be sold to domestic consumers and export markets.

Managing director Neil Winney said the contract would demonstrate Starfrost's ability to fast-freeze diced, wet and delicate foodstuffs previously thought difficult to process. 'This is Starfrost's first large freezing project in India for a number of years,' he said.

'This had not previously been a market we were focused on, but with the rapidly growing economy and investment in food processing India is now a strategic target market for Starfrost and our wider refrigeration group. We now have direct sales representation in India generating sales inquiries weekly from fruit, vegetable, seafood and value added product sectors of the food industry.

'The Indian food sector is receiving a great deal of investment from the local government and in addition they are encouraging overseas supermarkets – including the UK's major multiples – to invest in their food sector and cold chain infrastructure. Starfrost is very well placed with its wide range of innovative continuous quick freezing and chilling systems to capitalise on the potential growth in this market.'

He added: 'Starfrost have been selling across global markets for 27 years now, having sold to 50 different countries. We are the leading UK continuous freezing system supplier and number one supplier to the UK market. The UK accounts for around 40pc of our business with the other 60pc being overseas markets, mainly consisting of Europe, Asia and North and South America.' Starfrost employs 30 people at its Newcombe Road headquarters, but also indirectly employs another 15-20 through local sub-contract engineering services. The firm is part of the Star Refrigeration Group, which has a turnover of �45m and employs more than 350 people UK-wide