CREMONA, ITALY — Registration is open until Aug. 30 for two International Association of Operative Millers/Ocrim resident milling courses that will be this fall in Cremona, Italy.

The Introduction to Milling: Semolina and Flour Production is planned Oct. 16-20 and Milling Analysis and Control: Semolina and Flour Production is planned Oct. 23-27. Both courses will be at Ocrim’s International School of Milling Technology in Cremona.

Participants will be able to take advantage of a classroom setting with a nearby lab, as well as the newly completed Milling Hub containing a durum wheat mill.

Both courses are intended for employees, supervisors and managers closely associated with milling plant operations to produce semolina and flour. In addition to lecture and discussions, participants will be engaged in hands on laboratory exercises and access to the Milling Hub, a 150-tpd durum wheat mill.

Participants of the introduction course will be introduced to storage, cleaning, conditioning, and milling plant operations and packaging and warehouse operations. Wheat quality characteristics necessary for semolina and flour production will be explored. The role of grain cleaning, conditioning, milling and support equipment’s role in the semolina and flour production process will be highlighted. Process flows for semolina and flour production will be introduced and compared. The impact of wheat properties and finished product outcomes will be highlighted as they impact mill facility design and operation. Semolina and flour quality specifications and measurements will be identified for basic pasta and bakery production systems.

  Participants in the analysis course will be introduced to a variety of technical and economic analytical tools for milling process evaluation. Technical tools to be presented include product granulation, cumulative ash, step chart development, and flow sheet equipment allocation analysis.   Economic tools to be discussed include yield management, divide milling, and the impact of moisture on profitability. The impact of wheat quality characteristics, cleaning, and conditioning on mill operations will be quantitatively explored. Selected roller mill grinding, sifting, and purification variables will be examined in depth.  Special emphasis will be put on mill balance and troubleshooting skill development during hands-on exercises.

 Jeff Gwirtz, JAG Services Inc., will instruct both courses.  Gwirtz taught the courses in past years and acts as the facilitator for IAOM events and courses around the globe.

Registration fee: Includes tuition, laboratory fees, books, special instruction, materials, transportation, and lunch on class days; fees do not include lodging and evening meals.

Cost for one course for IAOM members is $2,600 and $5,000 for both. For non-IAOM members one course is $2,750 and $5,200 for both.

  More information on IAOM programs is available online at www.iaom.org/education.