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October 18, 2017

19/10/2017: European quality standards in the heart of Africa

by Mark Wild, Sales Manager, Fawema

Picture this: Night has fallen in the port city of Mombasa, Kenya


The crickets are chirping in the acacia trees, the heady perfume of exotic foods being cooked over open fires fills the hot, humid, East African air, the chaotic daytime traffic has finally subsided and peace gradually descends on the dusty city.
 


Suddenly the silence is broken by the shrill sound of a car horn. A taxi has pulled up at an anonymous gate on an equally nondescript plot of land close to the harbour, and a suspicious night watchman tentatively opens the gate to enquire who on earth is asking permission to enter at this late hour.

Access is granted and the taxi slowly drives in. The plot is shrouded in almost total darkness, the long grass wildly overgrown and the sounds of nocturnal animals and grass snakes scattering in panic to avoid the approaching vehicle can be heard all around.

A dim light powered by a small, spluttering generator shines out from a portacabin office which is nestled in the furthest corner of the overgrown field and inside, busily working at a laptop computer, sits a man who is about to enlighten me with a truly fantastic vision.

The person in question is Munir Thabit, 54 years of age and a native son of Mombasa. As I take my seat at the desk, Munir looks me straight in the eye and confidently announces that what is about to commence the very next day on that desolate and weed-ridden parcel of land, would eventually result in a flour mill, here in the heart of Africa, that would have exactly the same high standards of efficiency, safety, hygiene, food-quality and equipment automation, as any mill in Europe or beyond.

I let Munir´s words sink in for a few moments while I gaze out from the office window into the darkness of the Mombasa night. Something suddenly clicks in my head: the sheer determination and conviction in Munir´s voice tells me that he´s the real deal.

I turn towards him and say, …… “tell me more”.

That first memorable, and almost surreal meeting, provided the foundation for what has developed into a solid and successful working relationship and today, in August 2017, Grain Industries Limited is up and running and producing top quality wheat flour, much of which is then packed into retail paper bag sizes of 500 grammes, one kilogramme and two kilogrammes, on state-of-the-art Fawema servo-drive packing machines.

The new mill dominates the skyline and is both imposing and majestic. Munir´s vision has come to life.


Read the full article, HERE.

Visit the Fawema website, HERE.
 

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


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

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