The revived milling line will be built in the newly completed Alapala manufacturing complex in Corum, Turkey.
Photo by Arvin Donley.
Photo by Arvin Donley.
Shortly after the expo opened on Wednesday, representatives from Satake and Alapala, the companies that recently announced they were partnering to reintroduce the legendary milling brand, pulled away a black curtain that revealed several shiny, new pieces of Henry Simon equipment, including a roller mill and a purifier.
Peter Marriott, sales manager at Satake Europe Ltd., said millers have expressed enthusiasm about the reintroduction of the new and improved Henry Simon brand of equipment, which has been used in flour milling facilities for nearly 140 years.
“They’ve loved the whole concept, frankly,” Marriott said. “They still have a lot of affection for the Henry Simon innovation and they are happy to see this brand back among the mainline milling equipment. We did a pre-release at the South African Chamber of Milling Conference several weeks ago and it was tremendously received. We are enjoying the same reception here at IAOM.”
Marriott noted that the roller mill featured “a lot of Satake technology along with Alapala’s fundamental principles of good roller mill design.” The roller mill features numerous sensors that feed critical, real-time information to mill operators.
He said the Henry Simon equipment will be targeted primarily toward premium markets such as the U.S., U.K., and South Africa. It will be built in the newly completed Alapala manufacturing complex in Corum, Turkey, which features the latest robotic cutting, welding and assembly technology.
Henry Simon, an English engineer, introduced his line of milling equipment in the latter part of the 19th century. His equipment was first used in an English flour mill in 1878, and by 1892 over 400 mills were using the “Simon” system in Europe, Africa, India, South America, Australia and Japan. It remained a popular brand throughout much of the 20th century.
One of the mills that used Henry Simon technology was Hatap Un, which was established in Çorum, Turkey, in 1961. Around that time, Mehmet Alapala, the founder of Turkey-based Alapala, entered the sector by producing wooden sifters that were used at the Hatap Un mill. Thirty years later, in 1991, the Henry Simon brand was sold to Japan-based Satake.
Marriott said he is confident the 50-50 partnership between Alapala and Satake will prove to be a winning combination.
“It’s the culmination of a lot of hard work,” he said.
