In Sri Lanka, tea production is a major industry, employing over one million people and accounting for 3% of the country's GDP. The quality of the produced tea will mainly depend on the withering process. In the existing system, the withering troughs use DOL or Star/Delta Starters to start the fan and dampers to control the airflow. Nick Thorne, Invertek's sales manager responsible for Sri Lanka, said: "Each tea withering trough uses large amounts of energy to drive a motor powering fans that aerate the tea leaves to remove the moisture, drying them by up to 40-50% over a 12 to 18 hour period."
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