KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI, US — Inconsistent energy prices, pressure to reduce emissions and a lack of qualified workers are just some of the issues impacting the global flour milling industry. 

At the same time, millers face the challenge of shifting raw material costs and fluctuating quality parameters of those materials, said equipment suppliers who participated in World Grain’s annual milling projects survey. 

To help address those issues, millers are seeking new developments in the core process steps in milling, including sifting, grinding and purifying, a supplier said. They also are seeking technological advancements such as artificial intelligence to enhance the milling process. 

“As the need for producing sustainable food products increases, the demand for energy efficient technologies continues to increase,” said Omas, based in Padova, Italy. “Automation is also in high demand, as many of the companies we work with are in rural areas where finding good, reliable labor can be challenging.”

Another said “dark” factories provide high efficiency with lower resource consumption, leading to a sustainable future. 

Alapala, based in Istanbul, Turkey, has received requests related to factory tracking and traceability software as well as Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP)-SCADA system integration. The company is developing the Alapala Plant Management System that includes an interface between ERP, SCADA, recipe management, energy management, factory tracking and maintenance management. 

Demand is fairly balanced among the main regions of Europe, the Middle East, Africa, India, North America and China. However, in 2023, the greatest demand came from North America, said one supplier. 

The types of facilities vary based on the region. In North America, investment in greenfield projects has soared. China invested in new projects in recent years, but that now has slowed and migrated more to investments in upgrades. 

“In larger existing facilities, milling operations may be more focused on upgrades, while smaller niche players are looking to build new facilities to expand smaller operations or vertically integrate themselves into the supply chain,” Omas said. 

New Goodman Fielder mill unveiled

Goodman Fielder, through its Advance Mills business, recently added a flour mill in Papua New Guinea with engineering, installation and commissioning provided by Bühler.

| Credit: ©BÜHLER

Goodman Fielder, through its Associated Mills company, recently expanded its flour milling capacity in Papua New Guinea to service the country’s Highlands region. In addition to a flour mill, the location in Lae includes a stockfeed mill, snacks plant, rice packing plant and a distribution center.

Based in Sydney, Australia, Goodman Fielder employs over 5,000 people in Australasia and the Pacific Islands. It manufactures its product at more than 40 facilities in Australia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Fiji and New Caledonia. Singapore-based Wilmar International bought Goodman Fielder in 2019.

Within Papua New Guinea, Goodman Fielder employs more than 800 people at 12 centers around the country. 

Its newest flour mill was completed in 2023 with Uzwil, Switzerland-based Bühler providing the engineering, installation supervision and commissioning for the 620-tpd facility. Wheat for the facility is sourced from the east coast of Australia. 

Bühler also built the feed mill on site at the same time it was constructing the flour mill. Special consideration had to be made since Lae is in a high seismic risk zone. The mill could be expanded with 10 additional 4,500-tonne grain storage silos and an additional 620-tpd milling line. 

Current grain storage includes eight 4,500-tonne silos with an intake pit capacity of 400-tph. Precleaning capacity is 160-tph with universal cleaning machine TAS Universal filling five 280-tonne raw wheat bins. 

The first cleaning section, with a capacity of 28-tph, includes magnetic separator DFRT, Vega grain cleaner and grader, combi stoner with air separator, scourer with aspirator, optical sorter with five channels, moisture measuring device, dampener, two 60-tonne pre-tempering bins and six 160-tonne tempering bins. 

In the second cleaning section, equipment includes a scourer, impact machine, air recycling aspirator, scale, magnetic separator and multi online analyzer. The milling section includes five Diorit roller mills with eight rolls and 20 Diorit roller mills with four rolls, five plansifters, four purifiers, 10 bran finishers and 28 impact machines. 

The batch milling line includes 10 55-tonne flour bins, scale and paddle mixer with a capacity of up to 19 batches per hour at 2,000 kg with three main ingredients. 

Flour is transferred to the packer, located in a separate building. Flour can be packaged in 1-kg, 2.5-kg, 10-kg, 25-kg and 50-kg bags via carousel, single spout packer and small packing lines. Bulk loading is available via pneumatic discharger from two 46-cubic-meter bins. 

Bran handling is carried out in a separate building and includes two scales and three 100-cubic-meter bins. Product can go to the pellet press and then four 210-cubic-meter silos or to the feed mill. 

Ag Com upgrades Pennsylvania mill 

Ag Com upgraded its facility in New Oxford, Pennsylvania, US, with Leonardo roller mills supplied by Omas.

| Credit: ©OMAS INDUSTRIES

To meet local demand for flour and stay at the forefront of the latest milling technology, Ag Com Inc., New Oxford, Pennsylvania, US, recently upgraded its roller mills. As a small family-owned business, efficiency is key to competing with larger companies. 

Ag Com can trace its roots to 1904 and is now a diversified agricultural company offering flour, feed and fertilizer. The mill has a capacity of 5,000 cwts with a 77% to 78% extraction rate and 1.1 million bushels of grain storage.

For this latest upgrade, Ag Com again turned to Omas, which first supplied the facility with a Flexy Mill in 2019. The facility now will showcase the latest in Omas technology. 

The Omas Leonardo roller mills feature direct drive torque motors and the Omas KERS. These two features enable Ag Com to produce flour with less energy per cwt than traditional belt drive flour mills. 

The direct drive roller mills also provide sanitary benefits due to the removal of the belts. There are no belt shavings on the floor and the roller mills are easier to clean under. The mill is also highly automated, requiring only one to two mill employees per shift.

Ag Com has long-standing relationships with the local wheat growers who play a vital role in providing wheat to the mill. The company supports the snack food industry as well as other specialty food spaces. Co-products from the mill are used in the local animal feed industry. 

Abdon Food completes mill in Sweden 

Abdon Food completed a new flour mill in Sweden this year with equipment supplied by Alapala.

| Credit: ©ALAPALA 

Abdon Food, one of the leading cereal companies in the Nordic region and part of the Abdon Group, completed this year a new flour mill in Vasteras, Sweden. The mill will strengthen its locally produced offerings and improve its environmental impact through reduced transportation. 

The mill has a capacity of 220-tpd for flour production and 25-tpd for rye milling. Using local and imported wheat, the facility will provide flour for bread baking in the local market. The Abdon Group manufactures, markets and sells more than 350,000 tonnes of grain products every year.

The project was the first in Sweden for the Alapala Group. It provided all the processing equipment and systems for cleaning, milling, packaging and automation, with a focus on sustainable solutions that provided less energy consumption and more production. 

The mill’s steel construction, as well as special internal square bins will be provided by Alapala Construction, an Alapala Group company that specializes in the design, supply, and construction of industrial buildings worldwide. All equipment will be provided in compliance with European norms and the ATEX directive for explosion protection.

Swiss mill switching to ROMIL

The mill has a capacity of 200 tpd of soft wheat and 60 tpd for specialty products, with 22,000 tonnes of grain storage and a 4,000-tonne flour silo. 

The ROMIL-4 1000/250 for reduction passage was installed in October 2023 and the ROMIL-4 1000/250 for grinding passage was installed this March. Stadtmühle Schenk will be installing additional ROMIL units in the coming months. The ROMIL was a perfect match in terms of dimensions and requirements, Swisca said. 

Stadtmühle Schenk, in operation since 1887, supplies flour to leading national grocery retailers and offers a range of products including flours, premixes, bread crumbs and cereals.

After successful protype testing, Stadtmühle Schenk is installing Swisca’s ROMIL roller mills at its Bern, Switzerland, mill.

| Credit: ©SWISCA