The Global Miller: August 2016

August 31, 2016

31/08/2016: Sarah Sexton-Bowser will lead centre for Sorghum

Improvement at Kansas State University Centre is focused on boosting national sorghum yield and expanding markets.

Sarah Sexton-Bowser has been named managing director of the Centre for Sorghum Improvement based at Kansas State University. She will start her new role September 12^th 2016.

Sarah Sexton-Bowser

The centre is focused on expanding markets for sorghum and increasing the average national sorghum yield from 61.95 bushels per acre to 100 bushels per acre by 2025 by funding research in such areas as plant breeding and field-level management.

Those goals are outlined in an agreement between the United Sorghum CheckoffBoard, the Kansas Grain Sorghum Commission and K-State. “The new Centre for Sorghum Improvement has been a long time coming. Featuring collaboration between the university, and national and state entities, this cooperative agreement will make K-State the world's destination for sorghum research and outreach,” said John Floros, dean of K-State’s College of Agriculture and director of K-State Research and Extension.

“Sorghum producers in Kansas, the US and beyond will be impacted by the centre’s efforts. We value the strong leadership Sarah brings to the centre, based on her years of experience and contacts in the sorghum industry, and look forward to working with her.”

Ms Sexton-Bowser brings an extensive background in the grain industry to her new role. She served as a regional director with the United Sorghum Checkoff Program and as vice president of membership services and external affairs for the Kansas Grain and Feed Association, Kansas Agribusiness Retailers Association and Kansas Association of Ethanol Processors.

She earned a bachelor’s degree in agricultural economics with a specialty in political science at Kansas State University and a master’s degree in public administration from the University of Kansas. "Sarah is an extremely driven, results-oriented leader. She and her husband are actively engaged in farming which further strengthens her commitment to maximise these investments to help sorghum growers," said Tim Lust, CEO of the United Sorghum Checkoff Program.

"The sorghum industry is prime for a focused, collaborative vision and vision execution to drive the domestic sorghum industry,” said Ms Sexton-Bowser. “Farmers need enhanced cropping options to meet today's demands to continually push for farm efficiency and productivity. The centre is uniquely positioned to foster collaboration targeted towards enhancing productivity, value and demand for the domestic sorghum farmer."

In addition to a commitment to increase crop yield, the agreement between K-State, the Kansas Grain Sorghum Commission and the Sorghum Checkoff calls for efforts to increase demand for sorghum to 1.25 million bushels by 2025.

This includes the expansion of international markets, food use within the United States, livestock feeding, ethanol production and specialty products. Sorghum typically sells for less than corn. By increasing sorghum yield while at the same time expanding demand for sorghum, Sexton-Bowser and her team will work to decrease the trading discount of sorghum to corn from 4.6 percent to 2 percent by 2025.
The centre and its work is supported by a $2 million investment from the Kansas Grain Sorghum Commission and $2 million from the Sorghum Checkoff, both made in annual payments of $200,000 for 10 years, as well as an $800,000 investment from K-State.

Read more 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

31/08/2016: Aerating stored grain

by Peter Botta, PCB Consulting

Grain aeration is a popular grain storage tool used in Australia by farmers, offering harvest flexibility, increased marketing opportunities and better control of grain quality. As the range of chemical control options is reduced, grain aeration provides a powerful non-chemical stored grain insect management option.

Through manipulating grain temperature and moisture, aeration cools the grain stack and achieves a more uniform bulk, delivering an optimal storage environment. Not only does this inhibit insect activity, but also maintains grain quality. Aeration of stored grain has four main purposes - preventing mould, inhibiting insect development, maintaining seed viability and reducing grain moisture.

Without aeration grain is an effective insulator and will maintain its warm harvest temperature for a long time. Like housing insulation, grain holds many tiny pockets of air within a stack - for example 100 tonnes of barley requires a silo with a volume of about 130 cubic metres, 80m3 is taken up by the grain and the remaining 50m3 (38 per cent) is air space around each grain.

Without circulation, the air surrounding the grain will reach a moisture (relative humidity) and temperature equilibrium within a few days. These conditions provide an ideal environment for insects and mould to thrive and without aeration the grain is likely to maintain that temperature and moisture for months.

Air movement within the grain stack
Grain at the top of the stack is the hottest, as heat rises through the grain. The sun heats the silo roof and internal head space, resulting in the surface grain at the top of the silo heating up.

Figure 1: Air movement within an aerated silo.

When grain is stored at moisture contents above 12 per cent, the air in the head space heats and cools each day creating ideal conditions for condensation to form, wetting the grain at the top of the stack. This makes the top of the grain stack the most vulnerable to insect and mould activity and is unfortunately the last place aeration will get to. (See Fig. 1)

From the aeration fan outlet, air will take the easiest route to the top of the grain stack - the path of least resistance. Poor aeration ducting can result in pockets of grain not being aerated. The peak of grain in a silo is a common place that aeration bypasses. The path of least resistance is to the side, below the peak of the stack as it is a shorter distance from the aeration ducting. Considering silo size – height and width, grain types stored, ducting type and configuration and fan size output needed are all important factors. The system must be fit for purpose to ensure successful results.

Cooling or drying
Grain aeration systems are generally designed to carry out either a drying or cooling function - not both. Aeration cooling can be achieved with airflow rates of 2–3 litres per second per tonne of grain delivered from fans driven by a 0.37 kilowatt (0.5 horsepower) electric motor.

Figure 2: Aeration for grain drying and cooling

Aeration drying can be achieved with fans delivering 15–25L/s/t, typically powered by 7kW (10hp) electric motors. Low-capacity fans cannot push this drying front through the grain fast enough to dry grain in the top section of a stack before it turns mouldy. (See Figure 2)

Management for cooling or drying
Managing the aeration system is different for cooling or drying, with fan run times required at different times of day and at different intervals.

An automatic aeration controller increases the efficiency of an aeration system by negating the need for manual fan control, but it’s vital to set the controller to operate the aeration fans for their designed purpose - either cooling or drying.

Read the full article HERE.

Tornum AB company profile

Tornum AB has many years of experience in manufacturing and supplying complete grain handling systems for the agricultural and grain industries. Tornum offers dryers, storage silos and grain coolers for both new plants and extensions to existing facilities.

Their manufacturing program includes an extensive range of products for grain handling including dryers, storage silos and coolers. The organisation includes CAD design, project management and service departments, all at your disposal.

Tornum personnel have a background in agriculture, and therefore have a real and personal understanding of the requirements of modern drying plant design.

According to their website, "Tornum strives to deliver professional customer guidance to construct and build the best possible system. We serve our customers through our head office in Sweden, subsidiaries in Poland, Hungary, Finland, Romania, Russia and Bulgaria or via representatives in other countries".

Read more HERE.

31/08/2016: Guided wave radar level sensor with Hazloc approvals and Modbus RTU

BinMaster's GWR-2000guided microwave level transmitter provides continuous level measurement in vessels up to 100 feet tall with accuracy of ±0.08 inches (2mm).

It utilises time domain reflectometry (TDR) to continuously measure the distance, level, and volume of powders or solids in bins, tanks and silos.

This sensor features hazardous location approvals, a very small upper dead zone, and assures highly accurate level measurement in low dielectric materials down to 1.3. It has 4 -20 mA and Modbus RTU communication options, making it compatible with an HMI or PLC, as well as BinMaster's eBob LAN-based software program or BinView cloud-base monitoring.

The GWR-2000 housing is available in plastic, stainless steel or aluminum and has IP protection again dust ingress and water. An optional BinDisc interface enables push-button sensor setup and configuration on the unit.

This TDR technology is proven to work in difficult applications with excessive steam, condensation, or buildup and is designed to be virtually maintenance free. The GWR-2000 excels in challenging conditions such as vessels with high dust and air movement, or excessive noise. Advanced, high resolution signal processing significantly reduces or eliminates the upper dead band, ensuring accurate level measurement at the top of the vessel.

The GWR-2000 has self-activating false signal suppression for increased reliability and level accuracy. Automatic probe monitoring reports immediately if the probe is broken to avoid damage to discharge equipment in the bottom of the vessel. Each sensor is made-to-order with a ready-to-install cable made to a custom length at the factory.

Read more HERE.

August 30, 2016

Indo Livestock review from Milling and Grain

30/08/2016: Idea Exchange calls for application at GEAPS 2017

The Idea Exchange is the most popular educational event at the Exchange each year and GEAPS is now accepting applications for presentations at Exchange 2017 in Kansas City, Missouri

The session is broken into two segments:

Small changes ... big Impact!
This new aspect of the Idea Exchange was created to highlight a broad array of innovation and excellence in safety, company culture, community engagement, environmental awareness or other areas.

What's new?
This popular segment includes presentations by suppliers on new products and services developed for grain operations during the past year.

Participants in the Idea Exchange will receive:
• One free three-day basic registration to Exchange 2017
• Industry recognition and networking opportunities
• Recognition in In-Grain, on the GEAPS website and in industry publications
• Small Changes ... Big Impact! participants also receive US$100

For more information, please call Katya at (763) 999-4311 or by email at katya@geaps.com

Applications are due by Wednesday, Aug. 31. Download a submission form HERE.

Read more HERE.

Altinbilek company profile

Altinbilek is one of the leading companies in Turkey for the manufacture of high-capacity chain conveyors, belt conveyors, bucket elevators, screw conveyors and a whole range of steel silo components and accessories.

 Ever expanding, Altinbilek now have a plant with an outdoor area of 22,000m2 and an indoor area of 12,000m2 in the Eskisehir Organised Industrial Zone. 

Visit the website HERE.

30/08/2016: Micronutrient premixes with vitamins B1 and B2

By enriching flour, mills in many countries make an important contribution to nutrition and public health. Flour is enriched with iron, folic acid, and especially with thiamine (vitamin B1) and riboflavin (vitamin B2).

The homogeneous, very fine distribution of the individual components is important for the quality of mixtures with these vitamins. Otherwise, agglomerated riboflavin can cause yellow streaks or yellow-orange spots in the final product (Photo 1).

Photo 1: raw materials

The US, Great Britain and Canada led the way in enriching flour with B vitamins. In the war and the crises of the 40s, these countries recognised the importance of food supplements and passed laws requiring that flour be enriched with vitamins like thiamine and riboflavin.

Today, in over 85 countries industrially made flour is fortified with vitamins B1 and B2 and micronutrients to protect consumers from nutritional deficiencies, voluntarily or by law.

Vitamin B1 and B2: wide-ranging importance for health
Thiamine is a water-soluble vitamin that occurs in many plants and animals, and performs important functions in the human metabolism and nervous system. Deficiency can present symptoms such as fatigue, memory loss, digestive and heart rhythm problems.

A formerly widespread thiamine deficiency disease is beri-beri, which today is rare. Riboflavin is a yellow vegetable colourant that plays an important role in the body in extracting energy from fats, carbohydrates and proteins, and in protecting cells against free radicals. Deficiency symptoms include skin problems, visual and growth impairment, fatigue and weakness.

Photo 2: Impact of vitamin B2 on the colour of bread. Adding 6 ppm riboflavin can cause
yellowing of the crumb. But the standard in flour enrichment is 2 to 4 ppm, which
does not cause discolouration.

Compensation for nutrients lost in milling (see graphic)

Wheat has a naturally high content of B vitamins and would therefore in principle be a good source of vitamins B1 and B2.

But these micronutrients are contained mostly in the outer layers and the germ of the grain, so that they are lost to a great degree when grain is milled to get a lighter colour, since this removes the outer layers. Subsequent enrichment of the flour with the respective micronutrients can restore or even exceed their original content in the wheat.

As a rule, the amount of thiamine added is 5 – 7ppm (mg/kg flour). Thiamine mononitrate is most commonly used. This is a white powder that has relatively high stability for a vitamin, and can be processed without problems.

Graphic: Micronutrient losses during wheat milling. Wheat is a
great source of vitamins B1 and B2. Losses during milling
can be compensated through flour enrichment.

Riboflavin, an intense yellow colourant, is a bit more difficult to work with. In order to be able to provide comprehensive advice on the use of vitamin B2, Mühlenchemie has done baking trials and colorimetric tests with riboflavin-enriched flour at its Technology Centre.

The results show that the colouring effect only comes into play at relatively high concentrations. For example, at 6 ppm the crumb of sandwich buns showed quite visible yellow discolouration. However, at industry-standard concentrations of 2-4 ppm no significant discolouration was detected (Photo 2).

Yellow streaks and spots from clumped riboflavin (Photo 3)

So the problem for the mills is not so much the quantity as it is the quality of the riboflavin in the premix. The physical nature of the vitamin is what makes the difference. Riboflavin is an extremely fine powder that tends to agglomerate, so during compounding it needs to be distributed as thoroughly as possible.

Coarse particles can have negative consequences in the final products. For example, light colour is an important quality criterion for Asian noodles, which are made from bleached flour.

Photo 3: Prevention of yellow spots and streaks in dough. Simple quality check: Spreading out a premix| containing riboflavin gives an indication of its homogeneity. If the agglomerates are too large,
the particles come apart under pressure to form yellow-orange streaks

If the premix contains insufficiently homogenised riboflavin there is a risk that the colour particles can break down under the high mechanical pressure that occurs during rolling and stretching of the dough, leading to yellow-orange streaks.

Undesirable effects can also happen with buns. Individual yellow spots in the crumb are a sure sign of clumped or coarse riboflavin.

Read the full article HERE.

30/08/2016: Poultry & Egg Summit Latin American brings global expertise to regional leaders

Poultry & Egg Summit Latin America 2016 takes place October 26-27 , 2016 at Palacio San Miguel in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Latin America’s poultry leaders will be joined by internationally renowned experts at the major regional summit conference on poultry meat and eggs newly confirmed conference details reveal a major line-up of speakers addressing key current issues of trade and marketing for the poultry industry both regionally and globally.

Focus on trade
Poultry & Egg Summit Latin America 2016 is organised by the team already responsible for the VIV series of Feed-to-Food animal protein business events at locations in Europe, Asia, the Middle East and Russia.

The team is bringing its new conference-only format to Latin America for the first time after staging a successful inaugural Poultry Summit Europe in The Netherlands in May 2016. With an emphasis on providing good business information and networking opportunities, the two-day conference in October offers simultaneous translation of speakers in English and Spanish. It brings together regional and global expertise for a poultry leadership programme under the general theme of trade perspectives for Latin America.

Image: 16:9clue

Strategies for exporting and investment
Newly confirmed conference details reveal a major line-up of speakers addressing key current issues of trade and marketing for the poultry industry both regionally and globally.

The opening session on Wednesday October 26 has been planned by VIV in association with the International Poultry Council, to cover strategies for exporting and investment. Topics begin with the marketing outlook as seen from inside Argentina.

The presidents of its national associations CEPA (for poultry meat) and CAPIA (for eggs) have agreed to be the first speakers, with Roberto Domenech of CEPA outlining the potential role of Argentina in the world’s broiler industry and Javier Prida of CAPIA reviewing developments in Argentina’s egg market.

Poultry & Egg Summit Latin America 2016 then expands its view internationally as Nan-Dirk Mulder, senior global animal protein analyst with Rabobank International, discusses the business outlook for poultry producers in Latin America and the position of the Latin American industry in global poultry markets.

He is followed by American poultry agribusiness consultant Dr Paul Aho, who will examine how a continuing volatility in commodity prices could impact the demand for chicken meat as well as its supply.

Sustainability from broilers to eggs
The first day of the conference continues with an exploration of the future of broiler feeding in terms of cost and sustainability by Dr Antônio Mário Penz Jr, director of strategic accounts at Cargill Animal Nutrition.

Consumer acceptance is the topic for John Kirkpatrick, agricultural manager in charge of poultry and egg supply chains for UK-based food retailer Tesco. Ma Chuang, vice-general manager of Chinese agri-markets agency Beijing Boyar Communication Company will add perspectives on China’s investment and trade in poultry products.

Wednesday afternoon brings a focus on egg marketing and consumption in Latin America and at world level, in a segment backed by the International Egg Commission. The final part of the programme on the opening day offers expert advice on how to prepare the poultry enterprise to meet and beat the health challenge presented by highly-pathogenic avian influenza virus or HPAI.

Image: Sarah

New trading possibilities
A direct reference to new trading possibilities opens proceedings on Thursday October 27. Saudi Deputy Minister for animal resources Dr Hamad Al Batshan and his colleague Ibrahim Al Thunayan are coming especially to Poultry & Egg Summit Latin America 2016 to make a joint presentation on the potential for Saudi Arabia to develop trade relationships with Argentina and possibly other Latin American countries.

Their speech will include an explanation of the conditions that Saudi Arabia sets for the importation of poultry meat. Its timing is extremely appropriate by coinciding with the decision of Argentina’s new government to re-open major trade links worldwide, not least for agrifood products including chicken.

Where feed safety fits in
Thursday’s conference programme moves on to a series of presentations arranged by World Poultry and VIV around a central emphasis on value chain strategies and export. Béatrice Conde, food safety officer at Bühler, describes implications for the Latin American feed industry from the influence of food and feed safety on global trading.

Other speakers will offer new insights on responsible nutrition in a Latin American context, disease management in the region’s poultry supply chains and the role of information technology in distribution strategies.

Opportunities for networking
The format of Poultry & Egg Summit Latin America 2016 has been designed deliberately to encourage opportunities for delegates to meet and network between presentations.

The agenda in Buenos Aires starts with a cocktail reception on the evening of Tuesday October 25 and there is a buffet-style ‘walking dinner’ for delegates on the Wednesday evening, in addition to which both conference days on Wednesday and Thursday include breaks that are structured so people can relax and talk easily with each other.

Location and registration
Added to that, the Argentine city’s Palacio San Miguel provides a comfortable location for Poultry & Egg Summit Latin America 2016 that combines the elegant exterior of an historic palace with the refurbished interior of a modern and well-equipped meeting place.

The organisers report strong early interest from Latin American poultry executives about coming to the Summit. From preliminary indications they expect that more than 250 of the top decision-makers in the region’s poultry meat and egg businesses will attend.

Read more HERE.

August 26, 2016

26/08/2016: Chris Smith promoted to Vice President of Engineering, Sweet Manufacturing Company

Sweet Manufacturing Company is pleased to announce that Chris Smith, Professional Engineer (P.E.), has been promoted to Vice President - Engineering.

Chris joined Sweet in October 2014 as the Engineering Manager. Chris is an accomplished and results driven Mechanical Engineer with multiple years of experience in global operations. Chris will become a member of the company’s leadership team and a company officer.

Chris Smith

In his new capacity, Chris will lead and coach the company’s engineering team members, new product development and equipment design, and ensure best practices are in place for safety, quality and productivity of engineering activities that will meet or exceed customer expectations and company performance goals.

He will also work closely with both internal and external customers to provide appropriate equipment and project design and layout recommendations that will satisfy customer material handling requirements.

Chris obtained his Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering degree from The Ohio State University. Chris also has a Professional Engineer (P.E.) Certification from the State of Ohio. His P.E. certification reinforces his professional achievement and experience within the engineering field and is a mark of high quality standards and workmanship. Additionally, Chris brings proficiency in SolidWorks, RISA3D, MATLAB and FEA.

Chris has a broad background in engineering having previously served as a Senior Engineer, Mechanical Design Engineer and Engineering Manager. In addition to his Material Handling Equipment experience at Sweet, he has previous experience with an industry leader in the design and manufacture of suspended access systems for the industrial/commercial construction market.

Alicia Sweet Hupp, company President & CEO remarked about Chris’s promotion, “I look forward to Chris joining our corporate management team and am confident that he will continue to add value to our company and customers through his talent, knowledge, experience and expertise.”

Read more HERE.

26/08/2016: Van Aarsen introduces new feeding device for its GD hammer mill to minimise explosion risk

Innovative ATEX-certified grinding installation Employees, production equipment, and buildings are valuable assets.

By minimising the required maintenance and maximising the service life of expensive grinding installations, it’s also possible to ensure that they are much more cost-effective. In order to further minimise explosion risk, VanAarsen has introduced an innovative feeding device with an integrated heavy parts separator (also known as a “stone catcher”) for its GD hammer mill. The GD hammer mill with feeding device from Van Aarsen is also ATEX-certified.

Innovative feeding device with integrated heavy parts separator
When dust comes into contact with an ignition source, such as sparks, in an oxygen rich environment, there is a risk of explosion, and that is exactly what happens when the grinding process for grains and organic materials is started or stopped in a hammer mill. Van Aarsen develops and manufactures machines for the production of compound feeds and premixes for the animal feed industry.

It is also a leader in developing new techniques for minimising explosion risk without compromising the efficiency and quality of the grinding process. As such, Van Aarsen has now introduced an innovative feeding device with an integrated heavy parts separator for metal objects, stones, and other heavy objects.

GD hammer mill

The heavy parts separator detects such objects and removes them to prevent them from being fed into the hammer mill and causing sparks. Van Aarsen has optimised its heavy parts separator by automating the removal of metal objects and stones and by the combination of this removal with the screen exchange process. By ensuring that the automated removal of heavy objects and the exchange of the screens take place at the same time, the downtime of the hammer mill is reduced and its capacity is increased.

In order to provide a controlled release of pressure in case of an explosion, van Aarsen has also fitted the bin beneath the hammer mill with a pressure relief valve. This feature ensures that the hammer mill also complies with the specific ATEX standards that apply in Germany for hammer mills.

Maximising the service life of screens and reducing maintenance and downtime
The new feeding device has a compact design and can easily be integrated into the GD hammer mill and the automated screen exchanger. Besides minimising the risk of explosion, Van Aarsen’s new feeding device with integrated heavy parts separator also prevents damage to the screens.

This greatly increases the service life of the screens and significantly reduces machine downtime and maintenance. The GD hammer mill from Van Aarsen is ATEX-certified and therefore complies with the strict European guidelines for the prevention of explosions.

Van Aarsen also offers a range of other options for further minimising the explosion risk associated with the grinding process, including temperature monitoring and spark detection.

More information

At the EuroTier in Hannover, Van Aarsen will be showcasing its new feeding device with integrated heavy parts separator for the GD hammer mill aimed at further minimising the risk of explosion.

Read more HERE.

Milltec Machinery company profile

Milltec Machinery Pvt Ltd is the leading technology provider offering end to end solution for rice milling, pulses processing, Maize (corn) milling and Roller flour milling plants. Milltec also provides grain storage and handling technology to the customers apart from colour sorting and packaging solutions.

Milltec offers customised project solutions from concept stage to production stage, keeping the costs at optimal levels and assured delivery on time. The state of the art manufacturing facility, innovative R&D team, quick deliveries and excellent after sales service have helps us become the market leader.

Visit the website HERE.

26/08/2016: Animal food industry requests FDA amend part 11 compliance for VFDs

The American Feed Industry Association (AFIA) and the NationalGrain and Feed Association today urged the US Food and Drug Administration to remove the unnecessary regulatory burden that records required as part of the agency's revised Veterinary Feed Directive (VFD) program be maintained in accordance with the agency's onerous Part 11, Electronic Records; Electronic Signatures requirements.

www.afia.org

FDA's VFD program serves as a major component of the agency's overall strategy to promote the judicious use of medically important antimicrobials in feed for food-producing animals. The VFD program requires the use of these drugs be under veterinary supervision so that they are used only when necessary for assuring animal health.

The program also requires numerous records to be established and maintained by veterinarians, feed distributors and animal producers. In a citizen petition, AFIA and NGFA requested that FDA revise Part 11 in a manner consistent with other recent agency decisions, in which the agency has determined that records do not need to be Part 11-compliant.

"With FDA's recent decision to exempt from Part 11 compliance on all documents related to the Food Safety Modernisation Act for current good manufacturing practices, hazard analysis and preventive controls for animal and human food, it only makes common sense FDA do the same for VFDs," explained Richard Sellers, AFIA senior vice president of public policy and education.

The majority of feed mills that receive VFDs do not have the resources needed to implement and maintain computer systems in compliance with Part 11. "In 1997, the cost of developing a computerised electronic records and signature system in full compliance with Part 11 was about $150,000 per facility.

With inflation, that cost is roughly $225,000 today," said Dave Fairfield, NGFA senior vice president of feed services. AFIA and NGFA said an exemption from the Part 11 requirements also would also benefit FDA by enabling industry to provide documents to FDA for review in a more efficient and timely electronic format for facility inspections.

FDA has 180 days to respond to AFIA and NGFA's request, but given the Jan. 1 implementation of the VFD requirements, the two organisations urged the agency to make the change prior to that date.

Read more HERE.

August 25, 2016

25/08/2016: Experts in IoT and food processing join forces - Research cooperation between Bosch and Bühler

Bühler and Bosch Connected Devices and Solutions agreed to expand their existing successful collaboration for increased innovation and market launches, further leveraging the opportunities of the Internet of Things. New products are expected for 2017.

Bosch Connected Devices and Solutions and Bühler, two experts in the areas of the Internet of Things and food process technology, are joining forces. The companies have decided to expand their research and development partnership. Contractual proceedings to form a commercial partnership were completed on August 22, 2016 at the occasion of the Bühler Networking Days.

The cooperation provides great opportunities to leverage Bosch know-how in electronics, sensor technology, and software around the Internet of Things for the food processing industry. The two companies successfully cooperated in a two-year research project to integrate cutting-edge Bosch MEMS (micro-electro-mechanical systems) sensors into food production technology.

The results are very promising: Individual rolls in rotating machines can now be equipped with wireless sensors to measure in real time temperature and vibration during the production process. This allows monitoring and optimization of the end product through better alignment of the rolls. Operators also benefit from predictive maintenance services, reducing down-time and operating costs. First applications from this intensified cooperation will be launched in 2017.

“Following our successful R&D partnership, we are pleased to take the next step to form a commercial partnership. We are excited to utilise this partnership to create process solutions and services that improve yield and performance at reduced operating costs for our customers,” stated Johannes Wick, CEO Grains & Food at Bühler.

“During the last two years Bühler and Bosch have established a good relationship and met the demanding requirements with first selected applications in grain milling.”

“We are excited to continue and extend our partnership with Bühler, a major industry specialist and leading company in the field of food processing technologies,” said Thorsten Müller, CEO of Bosch Connected Devices and Solutions.

”At Bosch, we combine experience gained from our own manufacturing activities in more than 250 plants with our expertise as a leading provider of electronics, sensors and software for industrial IoT solutions. We are not only optimizing our own worldwide manufacturing base, we are also actively seeking to work with partners like Bühler to build a value creation network beyond company boundaries and turn Industry 4.0 into reality.”

About Bühler
Every day, billions of people come into contact with Bühler technologies to cover their basic needs for food and mobility. With our industrial process technologies and solutions, we contribute significantly to feeding the world’s population, setting the focus on food security and safety. Global producers and processors of wheat, maize (corn), rice, pasta, chocolate, and breakfast cereals rely heavily on us.

Furthermore, Bülher is a leading solution provider of die casting and surface coating technologies, with a focus on automotive and optics. As a leading technology group, Bühler invests up to five percent of its turnover every year in Research & Development. In 2015, its roughly 10,800 employees in over 140 countries generated a turnover of CHF 2.4 billion. The global Swiss family-owned company Bühler feels particularly committed to sustainability.

About Bosch
Bosch Connected Devices and Solutions GmbH was founded in 2013 and is a fully owned subsidiary of Robert Bosch GmbH. The company was set up to design, develop and market innovative connected devices and tailor-made solutions for the Internet of Things. Our competency in electronics, sensor technology and software enable new business models for global markets. Bosch Connected Devices and Solutions is headquartered in Reutlingen, Germany. In 2015 Bosch Connected Devices and Solutions opened offices in Chicago, USA and Shanghai, China, in 2016 a sales office in Singapore was opened.

The Bosch Group is a leading global supplier of technology and services. It employs roughly 375,000 associates worldwide (as of December 31, 2015). The company generated sales of 70.6 billion euros in 2015. Its operations are divided into four business sectors: Mobility Solutions, Industrial Technology, Consumer Goods, and Energy and Building Technology.

The Bosch Group comprises Robert Bosch GmbH and its roughly 440 subsidiaries and regional companies in some 60 countries. Including sales and service partners, Bosch’s global manufacturing and sales network covers some 150 countries. The basis for the company’s future growth is its innovative strength. Bosch employs 55,800 associates in research and development at 118 locations across the globe. The Bosch Group’s strategic objective is to deliver innovations for a connected life. Bosch improves quality of life worldwide with products and services that are innovative and spark enthusiasm. In short, Bosch creates technology that is “Invented for life.”

Contact Bühler:
Burkhard Böndel, Head of Corporate Communications, Bühler AG, 9240 Uzwil, Switzerland
Phone: +41 71 955 33 99
Mobile: +41 79 515 91 57
E-mail: media@buhlergroup.com

or

Samuel Eckstein, Head of Internal & External Communications, Bühler AG, 9240 Uzwil, Switzerland
Phone: +41 71 955 29 36
Mobile: +41 79 517 52 46
E-mail: media@buhlergroup.com

Contact Bosch:
Doris Frisch, Head of Corporate Communications, Bosch Connected Devices and Solutions, 72760 Reutlingen
Phone: +49 711 811-3650069
Mobile: +49 152 01885910

Read more HERE.

25/08/2016: Solid start to new season exports at Great Yarmouth

www.gleadell.co.uk

After loading the landmark one millionth tonne of grain last campaign, the Gleadell Terminal in the outer harbour at Great Yarmouth has made a solid start to the new harvest with 35,000t of farmers’ grain already loaded and shipped across Europe.

This has helped local growers reach overseas market and the momentum is continuing, with Gleadell this week loading 27,500t of feed wheat on the “MV Miedwie”, destined for Spain. France in particular, but also other EU countries, has suffered from poor yields this season as cool, wet weather has impacted on yields and undermined quality.

Whilst the UK has seen wheat yields fall back to the five-year average, the quality so far is good and this should provide export opportunities this campaign. UK farmers planted 34 percent of the wheat area with Group 1 and Group 2 varieties this season, producing a surplus of quality wheat, which could go to market outlets opened up by the disastrous harvest in France.

France traditionally sells a significant volume of different milling grades to North Africa, but this year buyers will be forced to look at alternative origins, one of which will be the UK. Paul Dowson, Gleadell’s East Anglian wheat trader said: “We are seeing overseas interest and are hopeful that the port will enjoy another busy season loading all grades of grains and oilseeds, providing marketing opportunities for local farmers.”

Read more HERE.

25/08/2016: Grain buyers from Middle East, North Africa to join Export Exchange 2016 trade teams

The US Grains Council (USGC) is pleased to announce companies from the Middle East and North Africa with representatives planning to join trade teams traveling to Export Exchange 2016.

Export Exchange is a forum for education and trade of US feed grains that will host nearly 200 international buyers and end-users from more than 33 countries organised into 19 USGC trade teams. The biennial conference, scheduled for Oct 24 - 26 in Detroit, Michigan, is sponsored by USGC and the Renewable FuelsAssociation (RFA).

The Middle East and North Africa are two regions with rapidly expanding markets and interests in corn and distiller’s dried grains with solubles (DDGS), a co-product of ethanol production.

Countries with representation at Export Exchange 2016 will include Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Tunisia, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, Lebanon, Morocco and Turkey.

“This premier event brings together key feed grain importers from around the world in one forum to meet with members of the US grains industry right as the 2016 grain harvest is coming to a close,” said Lyndsey Erb, USGC director of industry relations.

“We are excited to host our global customers at the Export Exchange conference, including those on the five trade teams with buyers from the Middle East and North Africa.”

The Council’s ongoing work in the Middle East and North Africa reflects a burgeoning interest in corn and its co-products. Programs in the regions are focused on market development and demand building for feed grains, specifically for dairy and poultry, and targeted marketing for corn, DDGS and sorghum.

grains.org

Export Exchange allows attendees to do business and form relationships with buyers in person and in one location. These two factors make the event a highly successful contributor to feed grain sales, with 2014 Export Exchange participants reporting sales of more than $900 million during the conference.

Read more HERE.

Alapala company profile

Establishing plants at any desired capacity, Alapala Machine is a company that exports 95 percent of its current production today and has hundreds of references in over 75 countries in 4 continents including developed industrial countries such as Belgium, France, Italy, Canada and USA. Alapala continually develops and expands thanks to its superior technology infrastructure, perfectionist staff and management, and its quality and customer-oriented approach.

It renders the best before-sales and after-sales services with its staff specialized in their industry, overseas representatives, strong service networks and spare-part stocks.

Alapala can manufacture quality and high performance machinery where the best efficiency ad products can be obtained in the production facilities that have the most developed and state-of-the art technology.
Alapala’s lines of business:

•    Wheat flour mills,
•    Semolina mills,
•    Corn flour mills,
•    Rice processing plants,
•    Feed mills,
•    Cereal storage systems,
•    Weighing, conveying, packing equipment
•    Harbour facilities under the licence of Tramco Inc-USA

Read more HERE.

25/08/2016: Feed weighing systems

by, Lukas Bruijnel and Tim Broeke, KSE Process Technology, KSE

The design of a premix, compound feed or petfood production facility has one main goal: how to get all the raw materials into the end product(s); of course in an accurate, time- and cost-efficient and flexible fashion with the desired capacity and footprint, while respecting any contamination groups. And last but not least, within budget.

So there’s of course a lot more than just the one goal while designing the ideal process. That always makes for an interesting discussion on how to approach the design, since everyone in the production process has his or her own approach and requirements. Perhaps the three most important are nutritionist requirements, production requirements, and (of course) commercial requirements.

Nutritionist requirements
Nutritionists need a wide variety of raw materials to be available 24/7 to dose a large selection of recipes automatically – of course with minimum manual interferences and maximum accuracy. This allows the nutritionist to produce specialised formulas without manual dosing, and a lot of different materials readily available.

Developments in nutritional science are producing more efficient compound feed and feed additives (premixes). They are also however increasing the demand for faster, more accurate and cleaner dosing, transport and mixing equipment. Generally speaking, there are nowadays more ingredients and often small doses.

Production requirements
Process requirements depend strongly on the type of production facility. Whereas a compound feed facility may focus on output and efficiency, a dedicated premix facility might focus on maximum flexibility in exotic or customer-specific premix production to serve demanding (niche) markets.

This may allow longer batch times, but require more ingredients per dosing installation, and the ability to dose small and large components from a single silo. Flow characteristics of ingredients are often poor, and hygroscopic materials need to be treated carefully. This indicates different design parameters for storage and dosing equipment. Additionally, these ingredients often are considered difficult for health and safety and should be handled with much care. Minimal operator contact is therefore another issue to face when design a best in class plant.

Many larger compound feed facilities are adding a dedicated premix line, bringing the supply of the most popular premixes in house and thus creating flexibility for themselves. That not only shortens lead time, it also provides a significant economic advantage. Depending on demand, in-house production can also dose in-line, dosing the various additives directly into the mixer.

Some plants find it more efficient to create larger quantities of premixed additives and carriers in one go. Doing so allows larger dosing sizes, and the production of premix when time is available (not inside the batch time of the main process). Additional storage might provide a challenge here, but again each different process and facility will have to prove which way works best.

Read the full article HERE.

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