The Global Miller: April 2015

April 30, 2015

30/04/2015: IGC Grains Conference 2015

http://www.igc.int/en/conference/programme.aspx

The IGC Grains Conference, one of the longest-running and well-established events on the grains and oilseed calendar, will take place in London on 9th June 2015. The conference, now in its 24th year, will bring together traders, policy makers, business leaders and government officials from across the globe under the theme 'Building on success, responding to challenges.'

Providing a fantastic opportunity to network and build relationships with some of the world’s most prominent grains and oilseed professionals, the agenda also features a pre-conference welcome reception on the previous evening.

The main programme is split into five distinct sessions, where panels of top industry experts will examine the current challenges facing the global grains economy through an assessment of supply and demand fundamentals, futures markets and environmental issues.

Confirmed speakers include:

Tim Andriesen, Managing Director – CME Group
Lu Jing Bo, Vice Administrator – State Administration of Grain, China
Stefan Vogel, Head of Agri Commodity Markets Research – Rabobank

For more details, including the full programme and registration details, click HERE.

The Global Miller
This blog is maintained by The Global Miller staff and is supported by the magazine GFMT
which is published by Perendale Publishers Limited.

For additional daily news from milling around the world: global-milling.com

ANDRITZ Feed Technologies company profile

ANDRITZ Feed Technologies designs and builds key process machines, but also offers complete plant solutions for the global animal feed industries. Our business is based on a competitive approach to matching the requirements of successful livestock feed, aquatic feed and pet food companies.

When designing new technologies or customer specific plant solutions, ANDRITZ Feed Technologies has to take account of the demand for reliable processing, cost efficiency, uniform quality, and high-performance animal feed, considering the shifting availability of feed ingredients, the increasing number of environmental standards and hygiene regulations, and the requirement for traceability in the interests of food safety.

ANDRITZ Feed Technologies is a corporate group with worldwide development, production within process technology and after-sales service to the feed and biofuel industries. With branches in 13 countries employing approx. 800 people and a world-wide network of agents and distributors, we are the leading supplier of competitive system and process solutions for the feed and biofuel industry. We design and develop all feed and biofuel key productions process and design total solution fitting the customer needs, thus ensuring the highest standards for the customer.

Visit the website HERE.

30/04/2015: Mill Training

The Wolfson Centre for Bulk Solids Handling Technology

First published in Milling and Grain, March 2015

The Wolfson Centre for Bulk Solids Handling Technology is a specialist consultancy, research and training provider based in Kent, which has been working with industry since 1973. The team of consultants at The Wolfson Centre have substantial experience with all kinds of bulk materials handling problems.
A result of the high demand for their services has been the development of a range of one and two day training courses for Industry designed to help end users and equipment manufacturers understand how and why materials processing problems occur and to ensure awareness of compliance requirements for DSEAR/ATEX.

System Design
Whilst off-the-shelf equipment works for the majority of powders and particulates, there are often problems with the bulk materials that exhibit poor flow behaviour or have special storage requirements – and it is the characteristics of these bulk materials that should be understood in order to specify or design appropriate bespoke equipment to operate reliably.

http://issuu.com/gfmt/docs/mag1503_w1/26

In many instances the supplier blames the materials for the cause of the problems and the client blames the equipment. If both sides took time to assess the interaction between the bulk material and the equipment being used, these problems would be far less frequent. In many situations budget constraints are the main factor in selecting equipment, but savings in procurement are frequently dwarfed by costs incurred through subsequent production problems.

It is important that both the equipment manufacturers and the end users are aware of the importance of understanding the behaviour of the materials being handled, and that they understand the potential (sometimes) catastrophic results that can occur when no pre-design characterisation is undertaken.

For this reason, having spoken to the end users and system designers, and delegates attending the basic courses, two new ‘advanced’ short courses have been organised, to delve deeper into the design issues of general hoppers and silos, as well as complete pneumatic conveying systems. For both courses, delegates will need to have existing sound knowledge of system operation and for that reason we are offering discounted course fees to anyone attending the advanced courses who have previously attended the basic courses at the Centre.

As a design engineer of bulk materials equipment or plant manager, you should not miss the opportunity to come on these courses.

12- 13 May: Advanced Course; Design of Equipment for Storing and Discharging Bulk Materials - A course developed with specification writers and equipment designers/suppliers in mind
9 – 10 June: Advanced Course: Pneumatic Conveying System Design - Here you will be taken through an in-depth exploration of detailed calculations and design for pneumatic pipelines

DSEAR/ATEX Compliance
Not only should system designers take into account the compatibility issues of material and equipment, but they should also be aware of the requirements of DSEAR/ATEX.
Explosions and fires from combustible materials are a known hazard and can give rise to serious injury as well having as the potential to cause extensive plant and buildings damage.

Legislation introduced in 2002 - the Dangerous Substances and Explosive Atmospheres Regulations 2002 (DSEAR) - rationalised workplace assessment for fire and explosion hazard identification, and methods of prevention or mitigation. DSEAR requires all workplaces where substances that could give rise to fire or explosion are handled or stored must be fully assessed and protected.

The Wolfson Centre has been providing training in DSEAR/ATEX compliance for Industry both at its training centre in Kent and on site at plants around Europe.

Full details of all the courses available at the Wolfson Centre for Bulk Solids Handling Technology can be found at www.bulksolids.com or contact the consultants for more details. Email: wolfson-enquiries@gre.ac.uk Tel: +44 20 8331 8646

Read the magazine HERE.

30/04/2015: Bayer innovations help secure world record barley harvest

Innovative crop protection solutions from Bayer CropScience have helped a New Zealand farming couple break the world record yield for barley. Warren and Joy Darling, from Timaru in the country’s South Island, produced 13.8 tonnes per hectare, easily breaking the previous record of 12.2 tonnes held by Scottish grower Stockton Park since 1989. The new record was officially ratified by Guinness World Records on April 15 after the crop was harvested on January 23, 2015.

In New Zealand, the average yield for winter barley, the type grown by the Darlings, is about 9.5 tonnes per hectare. The new record of 13.8 tonnes is a massive 45 percent more than the average yield. Weeds, pests and diseases, soil fertility, drought and extreme weather are challenges that are well known to New Zealand’s farmers.

“World-leading farmers like the Darlings ensure that we will be successful in our ultimate goal to ensure a healthy and sufficient food supply for all people worldwide. We are delighted that our company was able to play a role in achieving the record,” said Dr Holger Detje, Bayer New Zealand Managing Director and Head of Bayer CropScience in New Zealand.

http://www.cropscience.bayer.com/en/Media/Press-Releases/2015/Bayer-innovations-help-secure-world-record-barley-harvest.aspx

The winning team: David Weith, Bayer Territory Manager, Colin Dunstan, Bayer Seed Treatment Specialist, Joy Darling, Warren Darling, and Holger Detje, Managing Director and Head of CropScience in New Zealand (from left to right).

“We are particularly pleased that our innovative crop protection solutions safeguarded this magnificent barley crop, which has resulted in a world record yield.”

“We are already the market leader in crop protection products for cereals, the world’s most important staple crop,” said Hartmut van Lengerich, Head of Crop Strategy and Portfolio Management for Cereals, Rice and Fungicides at Bayer CropScience. He stressed that feeding the more than 9 billion people who will live on this planet in 2050 is one of the world’s biggest challenges.

“This challenge drives global agriculture and our industry. We have mapped out a comprehensive 10-year plan to invest EUR 1.5 billion in the research and development of new solutions for cereals through 2020, encompassing both seeds and crop protection products in wheat, the world’s main cereal crop, as one example of the long-term nature of our business.”

Innovations in crop protection drive sustainable cereals production
Bayer CropScience has a strong presence in New Zealand agriculture. The company offers customers a sophisticated portfolio of products that help farmers to safeguard their harvests, enhance grain quality and increase yields in a sustainable manner: fungicides which help control a wide range of pathogens with different modes of action, herbicides delivering solutions for the key grass and dicot weeds and services for resistance management, and insecticidal solutions to protect grain from post-harvest losses.

Furthermore, powerful seed treatment products marketed under the strong Bayer SeedGrowth™ competence brand get crops off to the healthiest possible start, help them become strongly established and produce outstanding yield benefits at harvest.

“The entire organization is very proud that innovations from Bayer have set the foundation for this amazing record. Bayer CropScience provided the entire seed treatment, weed and disease control program, including our newly launched fungicide Aviator Xpro,” Detje added.

“Other key products included the seed treatment products Poncho and Raxil, and our Firebird and Hussar herbicides. I’m confident that with our broad portfolio of crop protection solutions, we will see even higher yields in future.”

Collaboration key to leveraging the potential of modern agriculture
Agriculture and crop productivity are mainly driven by agronomic improvements and technology advances. To help leverage the potential of modern agriculture in order to enhance the quality of life for farmers, communities and society, collaboration and partnerships are key.

“Many factors determine the success of a great crop like barley – soil, climate, technologically advanced farming machinery as well as farm inputs like the seed variety, nutrients and crop protection solutions,” Detje explained.

“When the suppliers of these specialized inputs collaborate with skilled farmers like Warren you see very healthy crops with excellent yields. The realization of the barley world record shows that New Zealand farmers are among the best in the world.”

To develop innovative solutions which drive sustainable cereal production, Bayer CropScience is investing heavily in research and development. The company’s goal is to bring new crop protection products to market, helping farmers in New Zealand and worldwide to increase production of high-quality food at affordable prices whilst reaping sustainable benefits.

About Bayer CropScience
Bayer is a global enterprise with core competencies in the fields of health care, agriculture and high-tech materials. Bayer CropScience, the subgroup of Bayer AG responsible for the agricultural business, has annual sales of EUR 9,494 million (2014) and is one of the world’s leading innovative crop science companies in the areas of seeds, crop protection and non-agricultural pest control. The company offers an outstanding range of products including high value seeds, innovative crop protection solutions based on chemical and biological modes of action as well as an extensive service backup for modern, sustainable agriculture. In the area of non-agricultural applications, Bayer CropScience has a broad portfolio of products and services to control pests from home and garden to forestry applications. The company has a global workforce of 23,100 and is represented in more than 120 countries.

Visit the Bayer CropScience site HERE.

30/04/2015: Adifo announces new development to FaaS platform

Many in the industry will know of Adifo's FaaS (Formulation as a Service) platform, which allows optimal transfer of knowledge and cooperation between all parties in the value chain via the cloud. This platform was launched three years ago, and is highly valued worldwide.

http://www.adifo.be/news/ration-calculation-multimodel-multispecies

Image: Leszek Leszczynski

The latest development is the 'FaaS: One Tool - MultiModel - MultiSpecies' concept. This tool not only makes it possible to calculate rations according to the familiar standard models for cattle (such as CNCPS, NRC, Feed into Milk, etc.), but also to set up a fully independent model.

In addition, FaaS can also be used to develop/optimise feeds for pigs and poultry. This offers the advantage that each company can set up its own optimal animal model for different species in a central database and can share this knowledge via the cloud with customers, vendors and with the formulation division of the feed mill.

Feed formulation and ration calculation are thus made available in a single tool.

Adifo will be demonstrating the 'One tool: MultiModel – MultiSpecies' ration calculation concept from 9 to 11 June at Victam International in Cologne, in hall 6, booth B052.

Read more HERE.

30/04/2015: Texas, USA port grain elevator facility: proposals for future use wanted

http://www.portofbrownsville.com/request-for-proposal-and-information-about-the-port-of-brownsville-grain-elevator-facility/

The authorities in the port of Brownsville, Texas, have issued an official request to the general public for written proposals for the future use of the port's grain elevator facility.

The deadline for proposals is May 13 at 5pm local time.

The initial intention is to continue to use the elevator for grain export purposes, but other uses will be considered.

The Port of Brownsville is located in Cameron County at the very southern tip of Texas and is the only deep-water port on the US-Mexico border.

The port’s rail service is provided by the Brownsville & Rio Grande International Railway.

The facility was built in the 1960s and today is in good to poor condition, having suffered extensive damage during Hurricane Dolly in 2008. However, the automation in the control room looks serviceable and overall the mechanical and electrical systems appear in good condition.

Read all about it HERE.

April 29, 2015

29/04/2015: Rare opportunity to hear Rutger Koekoek at GRAPAS Conference 2015

End your GRAPAS experience with the one-day Global Milling with GRAPAS Conference on Thursday 11 June in the Rheinsaal 4 & 6 meeting rooms at the exhibition halls. Hear eleven specialists present on topics both fascinating and highly relevant to today's industry.

http://events.r20.constantcontact.com/register/event?oeidk=a07eamxo24g91033df2&llr=t8bt66bab

This is a rare chance to learn from Rutger Koekoek, Marketing Specialist for US Wheat Associates (USW), based in Rotterdam, The Netherlands.

Mr Koekoek received his Master’s degree in Agricultural Economics and Marketing from Wageningen University. Before joining USW in 2009, he worked as European Regional Manager for the American cotton seed company Delta and Pine Land Company.

The title of his presentation will be 'An overview of innovation and biotech wheat'.

The Conference costs just €75 to hear all eleven speakers.

See the conference agenda and register HERE.

29/04/2015: Bühler celebrates significant contract with TPS Group in Indonesia with grand signing ceremony

First published in Milling and Grain, March 2015

The Bühler Group, a global leader in rice processing, today underlined its position as first-choice supply partner for rice processors across Indonesia and South East Asia, with a high value agreement to supply the TPS Group, an Indonesian rice and noodle producer, with two, 17 tonnes per hour rice reprocessing lines valued at USD 7 million.

The contract, signed today at the JW Marriott hotel in Jakarta, Indonesia marks a further milestone in Bühler’s continuing expansion in rice processing across Asia and a significant step forward for the TPS Group, following its entry into the rice business in 2010.

http://issuu.com/gfmt/docs/mag1503_w1/24

Jakarta skyline (Image: The Diary of a Hotel Addict)

At the signing ceremony, the Tiga Pilar Sejahtera (TPS) Group were represented by Joko Mogoginta, CEO and Sjambiri Lioe, CFO. The Bühler Group was represented by Dieter Voegtli, President of Bühler Asia, Rustom Mistry, Director, Head of Rice Processing, Asia and Tomas Soleman, Managing Director of Bühler Indonesia.

The installation of the rice reprocessing plants at Sidrap, South Sulawesi, will increase the TPS Group’s total production capacity by 240,000 tonnes per year, with warehouse capacity increasing to 30,000 tonnes. The project by Bühler will be commissioned by mid-year 2016.

TPS Group currently has three rice processing plants across Indonesia, including PT. Jatisari Rejeki (Cikampek-West Java), PT. Indo Bears Unggul (Cikarang-West Java) and PT. Sukses Abadi Karya Inti (Sragen-Central Java), with a total capacity of 480,000 tonnes. Investment for the TPS Group’s South Sulawesi sites, valued at IDR. 682 billion (USD 53 million), will increase the manufacturer’s total production capacity to 810,000 tonnes per year while underlining its commitment to achieve a five percent share of milled rice production volume in Indonesia by 2020.

Rustom Mistry, Director, Head of Rice Processing, Asia for Bühler, said: “The agreement with the TPS Group demonstrates Bühler’s commitment to develop state of the art processing solutions and an acknowledgement of our global capability to supply complete process engineering solutions, driven by our leadership in rice research and technical excellence. By choosing Bühler to support its rice processing lines, the TPS Group is well positioned to meet its plan of achieving a significant share of the milled rice production in Indonesia. We look forward to continuing our relationship with the TPS Group.”

The deal demonstrates Bühler’s significant investment in its customer partnerships, technical innovations and localised service and support, which is serving the demands for processing and optical sorting solutions from rice processors around the world. This significant agreement is further evidence of Bühler’s reputation as the number one technology partner of choice in rice processing

Read the magazine HERE.

Golfetto Sangatti company profile

Over the last century, the Group’s history has followed the interweaving stories of its three consituent companies. These disparate paths have led to the current Golfetto Sangati, a company that represents the culmination of a long journey that started in the Twenties.

Golfetto, originally founded in Padua, specialized in the engineering of cereal manufacturing plants. Its foundation is the starting point from which all future events took place. It was followed by Sangati’s foundation, in 1929, a company that in just a few years became a renowned name in the milling industry.

In 1952, Berga S.p.A. was set up. At first the company specialized in milling machines and silos. It then widened its business to animal feed production. During the seventies it became a recognized leader in the engineering and building of mills, animal feed plants, cereal storage and handling for harbour terminals. The company expanded even further with the opening of new branches in Europe and Northern Africa.

Visit the website HERE.

29/04/2015: Silos Cordoba’s new manufacturing plant at Science and Technology Park is almost complete

The construction of Silos Cordoba’s new manufacturing plant, being built at the Córdoba Science and Technology Park, is very nearly done.

http://siloscordoba.com/news/silos-cordobas-new-manufacturing-plant-at-science-and-technology-park-is-95-done/

The city of Cordoba has a long history of rather impressive architecture (Image: Bert Kauffmann)

The project, which began in April last year, is scheduled for completion in May 2015. With its new manufacturing facility, the company’s goal is to become a European leader, not only in manufacturing turnkey grain storage projects, but also in the modernity and quality of its facilities, innovation and marketing strategies.

The project consists of two buildings. The main building, designed to house the manufacturing plant, has a rectangular floor plan and is topped with a curved East façade. This area has a floor space of 10,000 square meters.

The other building, the administrative area, represents the corporate image of the company, and the design features its flagship product, a steel silo, as an architectural element.

The new facilities will allow the optimisation of stock needed to manufacture the entire range of products the company has in the market.

Visit the Silos Cordoba website HERE.

29/04/2015: Olmix holds successful seminar and product launch at Korean university

On 14 April, Professor Jean Noblet of Olmix Group gave a seminar at Konkuk University, Korea.

http://www.olmix.com/news/prof-noblet-seminar-was-great-success#/1

Image: Republic of Korea

It was attended by 80 nutritionists and academics from all the main Korean feed companies.

Professor Noblet presented two sessions: 'Energy value of feeds for swine' and 'Precision nutrition of growing pigs and reproductive sows.'

Dr Virgil Meallet gave an update on Olmix's wide range toxin binder, Mtx+, and other mycotoxin binders, and Ms Marie Gallissot presented the official Korean market launch of MFeed+, a natural tool to boost enzyme activity.

Read more, and see the pictures HERE.

29/04/2015: Novus: Study compares the effect of two different methionine sources in commercial broiler diets

Results indicate both HMTBa and DL-Methionine deliver equal methionine value

The Schothorst Feed Research Institute, an independent private research and consultancy institute for animal nutrition, recently performed a trial to determine the effects of graded inclusion levels of added methionine in broilers. Recent works indicate that DL-Hydroxy Analogue of Methionine (HMTBa) and DL-Methionine (DL-Met) have a dose dependent equivalency with different asymptote values. The study aimed to confirm this equivalency by assessing the two sources of methionine.

http://www.novusint.com/en-us/Media/Press/Article/939/Study-Compares-the-Effect-of-Two-Different-Methionine-Sources-in-Commercial-Bro

Image: Anup Shah

Over the course of 38 days, researchers compared the supplementation of HMTBa, DL-Met and their combination in broiler diets. In total, 1600 male and female Ross 308 broilers, housed in 80 pens (10 treatments x 4 replicates x 20 broilers x 2 sexes) were fed one of ten dietary treatments, supplemented with HMTBa and/or DL-Met at three graded levels to a basal diet in the starter, grower and finisher phases. Trial results indicate both HMTBa and DL-Met provided equal methionine value (100 percent) to birds at all doses.

Below are the key findings from this study:

Both HMTBa and DL-Met, when supplemented on an equimolar basis, were equally effective, at 90 – 110 percent of the required doses, in improving growth performance of broilers up to 38 days of age, irrespective of the dose level used.
HMTBa had higher efficacy to convert a given amount of total sulfur amino acid (TSAA) into one gram of body weight gain at high methionine dose levels in starter diets, when compared to DL-Met.
In the finisher phase, HTMBa supplementation led to heavier bird weights, when compared to DL-Met, regardless of the methionine dosage.

Novus International, Inc., a leader in animal nutrition, is capitalizing on nearly 50 years of experience in the methionine market and science behind the HMTBa molecule.

Learn more about Novus’s methionine solutions HERE.

Visit the Novus website HERE.

April 28, 2015

28/04/2015: Unique chance to hear Professor Peter Shewry at GRAPAS Conference 2015

GRAPAS 2015 and The Global Milling Conference have joined to host this year's GRAPAS Conference 2015 at Victam International in Köln, Germany.

Wrap up your visit to the GRAPAS International Exhibition by attending the one-day Global Milling with GRAPAS Conference on Thursday, June 11 in the Rheinsaal 4 & 6 meeting rooms at the exhibition halls.

Don't miss the chance to hear Professor Peter Robert Shewry, Distinguished Research Fellow at Rothamsted Research and Professor of Plants and Health at the University of Reading, United Kingdom.

http://www.rothamsted.ac.uk/people/shewry

Professor Shewry leads a research programme on the development, structures and composition of wheat grain, focusing on improving the quality of wheat for human health, notably the content and composition of dietary fibre and phenolic acids, and for milling and breadmaking including grain architecture and the deposition, composition and properties of grain proteins and lipids.

He is the author of numerous refereed papers in international journals, has edited or co-edited 18 books (four for AACC including the 4th edition of Wheat: Chemistry and Technology and the 2nd edition of Barley: Chemistry and Technology) and has written many major reviews and book chapters.

In 2000 he was awarded the Thomas Burr Osborne medal and in 2002 was the joint recipient (with Donald Kasarda) of the Rank Prize for Nutrition. He was elected Fellow of the ICC Academy in 2009.

Over a 40-year career he has collaborated with many international scientists, most recently on the EU FP7 HEALTHGRAIN project (Exploiting the bioactivity of European cereal grains for improved nutrition and health benefits).

He is currently Reviews Editor for Journal of Cereal Science and a Trustee and Chair of the Nutrition Committee of the Rank Prize Funds.

He will be presenting on 'Optimising the health benefits of wheat products by exploiting variation in grain composition and processing conditions.'

The GRAPAS Conference - for rice and flour millers across Europe - costs just €75 for the full day.

See the conference agenda and register HERE.

Essmeuller company profile

The Essmueller Company’s roots go back to Saint Louis, Missouri in 1878. One of its co-founders, Fred Essmueller, immigrated from Germany in 1865, thirteen years prior to his first partnership. During this period, he gained fame as a millwright with IQ Halteman & Company. His specialties included ground-up building and renovation of flour mills along the Mississippi River.

Fred Essmueller had native talent and a strong will to succeed. Between 1878 and 1899, he formed and dissolved several partnerships. His last partner retired in 1899, and with the help of his son, Will (WC), he renamed the firm Essmueller Mill Furnishings Company.

It retained this name until 1941 when it was incorporated as The Essmueller Company. The company performed machining and fabrication 'job shop' work and one-of-a-kind equipment for mills in grain belt states. Diverse on-site work locations were centered in Saint Louis and Kansas City, Missouri.

Visit the website HERE.

28/04/2015: GLOBAL FEED STATS

The industry’s most authoritative resource on feed production

First published in Milling and Grain, March 2015

AFRICA EXPERIENCES GREATEST GROWTH IN FEED - WHILE PIG FEEDS MADE THE GREATEST GAINS

http://issuu.com/gfmt/docs/mag1503_w1/20

2015 marks the fourth consecutive year that Alltech has conducted a global feed survey analyzing feed production - says Aidan Connolly, chief innovation officer and director of Alltech’s Global Feed Tonnage Survey.

And there were many areas of ups and downs in worldwide production, impacted by both positive and negative influences such as slow markets, shifting raw feed material costs, fluctuating governance over import/export standards and animal diseases such as PEDv in pigs and bird flu in poultry, he says.

His estimate of the feed industry’s net worth globally is US$460 billion, based on average materials prices throughout 2014.

“This undertaking requires a significant amount of work each year, mainly because the feed industry is measured differently and in varying degrees of thoroughness from country to country. Yet, each year, better information is discovered and more is learned about how farmers around the world feed their livestock.”

The Global Feed Survey assessed the compound feed production from 130 countries in December 2014 through information obtained in partnership with local feed associations and Alltech’s sales team, who visit more than 31,000 feedmills annually.

When grouped in regions, Africa and Latin America saw the greatest growth in 2014, with Africa experiencing growth in all species.

With regard to pigs, Pigs and pets saw the largest percentage of growth in 2014, pigs up to nearly 256 million tons and pets up to nearly 22 million tons.

How the survey was conducted

Estimates compound feed production based on information collected from:

- Feed industry associations
- More than 600 Alltech sales-force visiting 31,000 feed mills globally

Data gathered from 130 countries
Definitions of feed terms can vary from country to country - does not include forages
Survey conducted Dec. 2014

Read the magazine HERE.

28/04/2015: Flexible solution in Czech Republic

Cimbria’s representative in the Czech Republic, NAVZAS s.r.o., headed by Mr Vladimir Naplava, installed a complete seed processing plant for 8 tonnes/hour (t/h) grain for ELITA semenářská, ČSO Ořechov, with start-up due in time for this year’s grain harvest.

The main focus during the planning and erection phase was on high functional flexibility of the line for various seeds. Another issue was of course quick and easy cleaning of the plant, simple and automated handling, as well as clean and safe working conditions for the customer’s operators.

An intake pit with a suitable holding capacity of 40 t enables a complete truck to be unloaded within a matter of minutes, thus allowing the truck to leave immediately after rapid emptying without any waiting time.

Image: DJ Spiess

Subsequently, the grain can either be fed directly to the processing line, or stored in intermediate day-bins (total capacity 50 t) for further buffer capacity, for instance to allow the plant to be supplied with grain from these bins during a night shift. The fine cleaning section consists of a de-awner, a Delta fine cleaner, an indent cylinder and a gravity separator. The conveying equipment consists of Cimbria belt conveyors and bucket elevators.

Waste products from the processing plant are put in seed containers, thus always keeping them separated into reusable and unusable waste.

Seed processing is completed by a Centricoater batch treater, which can either be fed from the storage bins after fine cleaning, or from seed containers by means of a box tilter. Finally, treated seed is then filled into containers again.

Exhaust air from the aspiration system is filtered and returned to the building with a residual dust content of max. 1 mg/m3. The plant thus offers optimum working conditions inside the building at any time.

Visit the Cimbria site HERE.

28/04/2015: Cargotec's first sustainability report published

Cargotec Corporation's sustainability report 2014 has been published in English and Finnish on the company's website. The online sustainability report is responsive and usable also on mobile devices.

https://sustainabilityreport2014.cargotec.com

Cargotec has focused on developing its internal sustainability processes and implementing its Code of Conduct. Cargotec has a systematic approach to benchmarking, developing and leading its sustainability and sustainability reporting. A new step in sustainability reporting is taken today, when Cargotec has published its first sustainability report. Cargotec's sustainability reporting 2014 complies with the GRI G4 "In accordance - Core" criteria.

The online sustainability report includes, among others, Cargotec's sustainability targets and results, business-specific cases about future technology offering and interaction with stakeholders, information about Cargotec's employees and fact-based people management, environmental and safety figures as well as ethical integrity. At the download centre, ready-made pdf of the sustainability report can be downloaded and tailored reports can be created.

Read the report online HERE.

Read the report as a pdf HERE.

28/04/2015: Swiss-based technology company Bühler and the Italian specialist GSR Cocoa Machinery join forces in the cocoa market

http://www.buhlergroup.com/global/en/about-buehler/media/media-releases/media-releases-details-18907.htm#.VT89Q0iJlVs

Image: Jon Connell

Bühler, the market leader for cocoa processing equipment, and GSR Cocoa Machinery, specializing in the design, manufacture and maintenance of cocoa pressing lines, have decided to combine their sales efforts to benefit their customers by offering them a complete product range from a single source.

The high quality and top performing presses designed and manufactured by GSR will be incorporated in Bühler’s total line concept. Bühler’s proprietary process NARS (Nibs-Alkalizing-Roasting-Sterilizing) is one of the world’s leading processing technologies for cocoa and the GSR presses complete the portfolio for this process. On the other hand, GSR is able to expand its international market presence through Bühler’s unique global sales network in 140 countries.

Furthermore, the two companies will be developing line concepts to maximize yield and quality of the end product in the cocoa value stream, combining their expertise and knowledge in their respective fields of cocoa processing.

Read more HERE.

April 27, 2015

27/04/2015: The International Maize and Wheat Improvement Centre (CIMMYT) celebrates International Women’s Day 2015

Published in Milling and Grain, March 2015

International Women’s Day on March 8th offers an opportunity to recognise the achievements of women worldwide. This year, CIMMYT asked readers to submit stories about women they admire for their selfless dedication to either maize or wheat. In the following story, Judith Oyoo writes about her Super Woman of Maize, Jane Ininda, an agricultural scientist.

Dr Jane Ininda is an agricultural scientist who has been making great strides in agricultural research with remarkable results.

Photo: CIMMYT

She was born in humble surroundings, in Mbeere District, in Kenya. Her parents were farmers whose crop yields were far from satisfactory.

“I remember as I was growing up that there wasn’t enough food; we used traditional methods and you could never be sure there would be enough food in the year,” Ininda recalled.

A graduate of Iowa State University, she began her academic journey in Easter Province, Kenya at Kaaga Girls High School, University of Nairobi where she earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees before joining Iowa State University to study for her doctoral degree.

Dr Ininda has released 26 commercial maize varieties during a career that spans more than 30 years. In collaboration with other partners she has released more than 180 hybrid maize varieties that have been commercialised.

She has contributed to food security, employment and wealth creation to smallholder farmers in Africa.

Dr Ininda believes in the saying: “Give a hungry person a fishing hook and they will never be hungry again in their lifetime.”

In this case, the “fishing hook” is crop varieties, especially disease-resistant, high-yielding maize with improved taste and the ability to mature early.

In addition to her professional excellence, she has mentored many upcoming young scientists without considering gender.

She is hardworking, determined, focused, intelligent, humble and soft spoken, although she is a giant in the world of research.

She believed in me when I was naïve, having recently graduated from Kenya’s Egerton University. She involved me in her project, taught me how to carry out experiments, data collection and teamwork.

I gained invaluable research experience under her mentorship, although informal. One way to sum her up: “Priceless gem to Africa.”

With thanks to CIMMYT.

Read the magazine HERE.

Vigan company profile

http://www.gfmt.co.uk/CC/GFMT1202_vigan.jpg

VIGAN manufactures bulk materials handling systems, mainly:

Mobile pneumatic conveyors or vacuvators or grain pumps.
Pneumatic continuous barge unloaders and mechanical barge loaders.
Mechanical and pneumatic continuous ship unloaders for vessels up to post-Panamax.
Mechanical loaders for any size of ships.

VIGAN capabilities include also complete turnkey projects for port terminal including ship unloading & loading, storage facilities and bagging operations.

Visit the website HERE.

27/04/2015: New GOST-Standard for Brabender® Amylograph

On 1 July 2015, the GOST ISO 7973-2013 will come into force in Russia. Thus, a standard already known at an international level for more than 50 years is now going to be adopted into national law by the Russian standardisation authorities.

http://www.brabender.com/english/food/news/news/datensaetze/new-gost-standard-for-brabenderr-amylographr.html

The GOST standards 51404-99 (Brabender® Farinograph®) and 51409-99 (Brabender® Extensograph®) already have existed for decades. Now also the GOST ISO 7973-2013 fulfils the industry’s need for reproducible and practice-oriented laboratory methods for flour quality analysis. The authorisation of the Amylograph® standard paves the way for an efficient application of the Brabender® 3-Phase System (consisting of Farinograph®, Extensograph® and Amylograph®) in Russia.

With the GOST ISO 7973-2013 standard, the description of a method for measuring the enzyme activity and the gelatinisation properties of starch is now available. Both criteria have a direct influence on the quality of the manufactured bakery products, e. g. freshness and crumb structure.

With the help of the Brabender® Amylograph® and the new GOST standard, the quality of rye and wheat flours is measurable. The early identification of the quality of the utilised flours lead to high-quality bakery products and therefore to satisfied customers.

"Flour does not have good or bad technological properties, but there is a right or wrong application for it”, explains Markus Löns, Senior Sales Director at Brabender®’s food division. The GOST ISO 7973-2013 and the Brabender® Amylograph® supports the milling and baking industry with finding the optimum application for flour.

Visit the Brabender food site HERE.

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April 30, 2015

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April 27, 2015