The Global Miller: April 2019

April 30, 2019

Vibrafloor used in the largest power plant in the UK

by Vibrafloor, France

The Drax power station in North Yorkshire, with 4,000 MW of generating capacity, provides seven percent of the UK's electricity needs. Drax is both the name of the village that houses the power plant and the name of the company that operates the electrical production site, Drax Power Limited.

Since 2012, this company has decided to progressively convert its supplies from being a coal-fired power station to biomass, and by 2020, its six boilers are expected to be fully pelletised. For the storage and distribution of pellets, on these industrial scale installations, their electricians have opted for Vibrafloor's vibrating floor dome and total drain silos, designed and manufactured in France.

A conversion under the guise of fighting climate change
The Drax plant, the largest in the UK, was also the second largest coal-fired power plant in Europe after Bełchatów in Poland. And just a few years ago, to produce 24 TWh a year on coal, it also emitted 22.8 million tonnes of carbon dioxide a year.

After projects of new biomass generating units in the 2000s, many tests in biomass and coal co-combustion were carried out in 2004 in the existing boilers, with willow blister, sunflower and peanut shells. In the view of the government, the solution is to modify existing boilers to consume crushed and pulverised wood pellets that have been retained for large-scale conversion of the plant.

In September 2012, the Drax Group announced the conversion of three of its six units into complete combustion pellets, each consuming about 2.3 million tonnes of granules per year. In 2013, the first of three planned units was successfully commissioned. In 2014, the second unit was, in turn, commissioned.

At this point, Drax is completing the construction of four storage domes, each of which can hold 75,000 tonnes, classified in the ATEX zone to store its pellets. At the same time the electrician invests in the United States in several pellet production plants to guarantee its supply.

In 2015, the Drax Group began converting its third unit and in 2016 announces that 70 percent of the electricity it generates comes from wood pellets, which is about 20 percent of the renewable energy produced in the United Kingdom. In 2018, Drax announced a fourth unit will switch to biomass.

Read more HERE.

Visit the Vibrafloor 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

Balaguer Rolls company profile

Founded in 1916, Balaguer Rolls is a family business specialising in the casting and machining of centrifugal rolls for milling and a range of other industries, including compound feed, soybeans, coffee, chocolate, paint, salt, biscuits, chemicals and more.

Throughout the company's history, Balaguer has earned the trust of many of the largest food machinery manufacturers worldwide: Balaguer rolls have been incorporated into roller mills around the globe. Balaguer also supplies rolls to end-users - flourmills, edible oil factories and such like - in no fewer than 120 countries.

Visit the website 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

Leiber’s innovative products awarded in Poland

Leiber GmbH and its Polish daughter company - Leiber Sp. z.o.o. based in Krosniewice had a successful visit to the FERMA trade fair this year. The animal feed department with its brewers' yeast range was, once again, represented at the fair in Lodz.

FERMA is regarded as the international trade fair and platform for producers and breeders of livestock, pork and poultry in Poland. A commission consisting of members of the Polish Chamber of Agriculture, scientists and a representative of the fair organisation, awarded medals to two of Leiber brewers' yeast products.

Dr Andrzej Sobieraj (second on the right) accepting the prize in Lodz
together with the members of the commission
Image credit: Leiber GmbH

The new product Leiber YeaFi® AB, a mixed product consisting of brewers' yeast compounded with apple pomace and beet pulp, was awarded a prize as an "innovation" on account of its high content of active fibres for the support of the digestion by the animals. During the development of the product, special attention was given by Leiber to the grain-free composition, as the animal feed industry and animal owners have increasingly demanded this in recent years.

The second product that was awarded the "gold medal" was Biolex® MB40, a specialist brewers' yeast product from the Leiber animal feed range. It consists of the cell walls of genuine brewers' yeast (Saccharomyces Cerevisiae), which are obtained during the production of soluble brewers' yeast extracts. Its high levels of beta-glucans and mannan-oligosaccharides, for example, actively support and relieve the immune system, and bind and inactivate pathogens and toxins in the gut.

Both Andrzej Sobieraj on behalf of the Polish subsidiary and the director of the business unit for animal nutrition, Nikolaus Jungbluth are delighted with the awards.

For more than 60 years, Leiber GmbH has been one of the leading manufacturers of special yeast products 'made in Germany'. With its two locations in Germany, as well as additional production facilities in Poland and Russia, Leiber's more than 230 dedicated employees produce brewers' yeast products and yeast extracts at the highest level of quality.

For more information visit the Leiber website, HERE.

April 29, 2019

ADM improves Midwest flour milling capacity with Mendota facility, USA

Archer Daniels Midland Company has recently announced that it is realigning its flour milling footprint in the US as its new, high-capacity mill in Mendota, Illinois, nears opening.

In the coming months, the company will end production at its Nokomis flour mill in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and its flour mill Salina, Kansas. In addition, the company continues to plan to end production at its wheat mill in Chicago when the Mendota mill opens later this year.

'We are continuing to see strong demand for flour in the Midwest, and the changes we are announcing today, along with the opening of our new, state-of-the-art mill in Mendota later this year, will perfectly position ADM Milling to meet customer needs throughout the region,' said Chris Cuddy, president of ADM's Carbohydrate Solutions business. 'The three facilities we are closing in Minnesota, Kansas and Illinois are all more than a century old, and despite the great work of our teams in each location, the age of those mills significantly constrains our operations. The growth investment we've made in our new Mendota facility will offer the efficiency, variety and flexibility that our customers deserve, and this realignment will ensure both we and our customers harvest the full benefits of that investment.'

The Mendota facility, which will have the ability to grind soft and hard wheat varieties and to unload 110-car shuttle trains, is on target to open in the second half of 2019. The facility will have a daily milling capacity of 30,000 cwts. The Minneapolis, Salina and Chicago mills that are being shut down have a combined daily capacity of 29,000 cwts.

'Mendota is one of many important growth investments we're making in ADM Milling,' Mr Cuddy added. 'We're investing in improvements to our Atkinson mill in Minneapolis – which will continue to operate – and we just celebrated the opening of our modernised, state-of-the-art mill in Enid, Oklahoma late last year.'

ADM Milling is one of the world's largest flour millers, with multiple wheat flour mills in the US as well as in Canada, the Caribbean, Central America and the United Kingdom.

For more information visit the ADM website, HERE.

Standards for conveyer design

by Ing. Gustavo Sosa, CEO of Sosa Ingenieria, USA

In our Latin American market, we suffer a lot because of the lack of standards. Even the piping isn’t uniform. It depends on whether the supplier is Argentinian, Brazilian or Chinese. This means the sizes of all the fittings are different, even some of the conveyors.

As professionals, one of our main responsibilities is the creation and promotion of technical standards that will lead us to economies in the maintenance during the whole lifecycle of all the facilities and even on new projects.

Let’s say we are expanding our facility, installing a new belt conveyor, and suddenly we realise it is five metres too short to operate properly. We call our supplier and he says he is overbooked and the delivery time is 60 days.

What do we do? Stop the works for two months? Even if you send the workers to Unemployment Insurance, you have to dismantle the camp and set it up again in two months. Besides, there is a lost income for the two months that the facility won’t be yet operating at the new capacity.

Call our local steel workshop and tell them to copy all the structural pieces while we get the rollers somewhere else? It is very likely the workshop will take more time than they promise and the rollers have to be imported from China, Europe, or the US, and that will take at least 45 days for the sea freight.

Everything sounds absurd and there seems to be no solution. But there could be one, if manufacturers adopted common standards. In that case, the piece that one manufacturer doesn’t have could be supplied by another one.

As manufacturers, at first view it might seem one is losing business, because you are lifting exit barriers for your clients. But you are also actually lifting the entrance barriers for new clients. It will even allow us to outsource production if we have too many orders and don’t have enough capacity.

You don’t even need to create these standards from zero. You may adopt others, created by international organisations.

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

Visit the company website HERE.

April 28, 2019

Cargill strengthens China commitment with US$112m new investment in Jilin

Cargill has announced that it will invest US $112 million to expand the capacity of its corn processing facility in Songyuan of Jilin province.

This is part of its joint initiative with Songyuan government to build the Sino-US Cargill Biotech Industrial Park, featuring the Cargill Food Safety and Technology Center. Cargill will continue to invest in the park in the coming years. The move is expected to help boost local economy and strengthens local corn processing industry.

Panorama of the Sino-US Cargill Biotech Industrial Park
Image credit: Cargill

'Cargill has made significant investments in Songyuan, which is welcomed by us,' said Mr Wang Zilian, mayor of Songyuan Municipal Government. 'I believe the new investment and projects will help boost the prosperity of local farmers and also benefit the growth of local corn processing industry.'

The park, which occupies 3.71 million square meters, is designed to facilitate both corn processing and trading, with a processing capability of up to two million tons per year by 2020. Future warehouses will be built for commodities such as corn and starches.

As one of the most important facilities in the park, the Cargill Food Safety and Technology Centre will focus on testing, research and training in the area of food safety, as well as process improvement and product development for the corn processing and food ingredients industries.

'China is a crucial market with amazing vitality. We will continue to work as partners with China to build sustainable agriculture and invest in rural areas,' said Dave MacLennan, Cargill chairman and CEO at the foundation laying ceremony for Cargill Food Safety and Technology Centre.

Read the full article on the Milling and Grain website, HERE.

Connected systems for stored grain temperature monitoring

by Aymeric Guillou, Javelot, France

Using connected devices to monitor temperature in grain silos is a solution to prevent and reduce the risk of grain warming, proliferation of insects or any kind of moistures. Today, the temperature is registered once-to-twice a month in many grain stores, those stores being themselves located in rural areas.

Developing a connected thermometry device has arisen as the best solution to follow the temperature of the grain with the most accurate data, optimising the use of ventilators and improving the follow up of the temperature as precisely as possible.

A connected sensor for an ongoing monitoring of the temperature
In that perspective, Javelot was founded in 2017. A young French company based in Lille (North of France), Javelot was founded by an engineer in agriculture and a farmer, storing himself grain on a farm. Both founders gave the same statement, regarding the lack of a precise solution to monitor grain temperature during storage.

There are two main factors that can damage grain during storage: humidity and temperature. Considering that humidity should not evolve, once the grain is stored, they decided to focus on the best solution to control temperature as efficiently as possible and finding a technical solution to prevent any risk of loss or damage.

From this statement, the idea was to develop a sensor, able to transmit and record temperature data. To do so, both founders asked an IoT company to work on the project with them to conceptualise and develop the software, in order to transform the project to a concrete solution. After a year and a half of work, to design the device and materialise the technology, Javelot was created. A two-metre long sensor, 100 percent autonomous and capable of working via wireless links to application available on PC and smartphone, was their final creation.

Read more HERE.

Novus company profile

Novus' scientific roots and history originate in the 1950s when St Louis, Missouri-based Monsanto Company began conducting livestock and poultry feed metabolism studies.

In 1959, one of its products received FDA approval as an animal feed additive, which helped launch the Monsanto division that would become Novus.

In an effort to focus on its core businesses - seed, herbicide and biotechnology - Monsanto sold its Feed Ingredients division to Mitsui & Co Ltd and Nippon Soda Co, Ltd. in 1991, setting Novus on its path of Health through Nutrition based on science.

With two products for the poultry industry and the vision of helping to feed the world affordable, wholesome food, Novus International was born.

At the time, this vision statement was considered a bold goal and some questioned how Novus could realistically make a contribution. Although Novus was a small, business-to-business company, we understood that our core knowledge of health and nutrition related to poultry could be beneficial to other species.

Since 1991, Novus has brought numerous products to the market, including more than 100 over the past decade, and developed product families including Methionine solutions, Trace Mineral solutions, Enzyme solutions, Eubiotics solutions and Feed Quality solutions.

Novus’s comprehensive portfolio provides a holistic approach to solutions, service and sustainability for poultry, swine, aquaculture and cattle.

Finding ways to improve feed efficiency is critical to profitability. When this requires reformulating rations due to high feed costs, producers don’t want to sacrifice animal performance. With the CIBENZA® feed additive family of enzymes, this isn’t an issue. Using CIBENZA products in feed formulation produces more dietary energy, improves protein digestibility and increases the availability of nutrients such as starch, amino acids, and fat.

Enzymes are scientifically proven to help improve digestion of protein and energy as well as improving phosphorous metabolism, allowing producers to decrease the use of expensive ingredients when necessary. Enzymes also allow for the incorporation of a wider variety of more cost-effective ingredients without affecting performance.

CIBENZA products optimize feed formulations to:
- Promote more efficient meat production
- Deliver feed cost savings
- Support a healthy digestive system
- Protect the environment by reducing animal waste, phosphorous and nitrogen releases into the environment

Visit the website HERE.

More information on CIBENZA®, HERE.

April 26, 2019

The GRAPAS Conference programme is now live!

The GRAPAS Conference, playing host to the GRAPAS Innovations Awards, has now revealed its final conference programme!

The conference is taking place on Thursday June 13th, 2019 at VICTAM International in Cologne, Germany, from 10:30-16:00 and features speakers from Dinnissen, EyeGrain, Brabender, Petkus, Bühler, Selis and many more companies.

Each applicant for the GRAPAS Innovations Awards will be presenting and discussing why their product is so beneficial and revolutionary for the milling industry, before the winners of the awards are crowned!

The GRAPAS Conference is a brilliant chance to witness the best in flour, rice and pasta processing technology and is a must-attend for members of the food processing industry.

You can register to attend the conference on Victam's official website: https://registration.victaminternational.com/visitor/

Tickets cost 99€ and include a coffee break, lunch voucher and one year's subscription Milling and Grain magazine.

Read more HERE.

African Swine Fever Conference

by Roger Gilbert, Publisher, Milling and Grain

Bringing home the bacon may prove more expensive in future than we have been accustomed to - given the African Swine Fever virus is spreading

The challenges being faced by the Chinese pig producing industry may well be under-estimated and the level of concern was clearly demonstrated when Famsun, jointly with Milling and Grain, hosted an impromptu one-day conference on March 27th, 2019 to being together international experts to review the modus operandi of the ASF virus and the most trusted control and prevention measures.

The one-day conference held in Beijing attracted 160 of China's largest pig producers from across the country. They wanted to learn more about bio-security and how to contain and/or avoid their farms from infection.

China, the world's largest pig producing country, is experiencing a rapid decline in pig numbers – it has lost over one million pigs in just over six months. There is speculation that pig meat prices could rise by three-quarters by the end of next year. China consumes almost 30 percent of the world's meat production.

This will have a major knock-on effect putting pressure on the international trade in pig meats as well and resulting in upward pressure on prices for all livestock products as the shortage of this very important protein source is felt in markets around the world.

The doomsday scenario is in the virus spreading to neighbouring countries in Asia and the risk to other countries if they do not implement preventive and bio-security measures.

What is or can be done? To answer that question ask yourself why would a feed equipment manufacturer and a magazine take it upon themselves to address an animal health issue? In answering this question might provide a way forward in controlling the spread and achieving containment of the disease.

Farmers often look to feed as the carrier of disease onto their farms. That might have some validity, given that feed trucks often visit several farms on a single run. Bio-security not only rests with the farmer but also implicates all people, vehicles and animals 'entering' a farm.

Consequently, farmers must take responsibility for their bio-security and request feed suppliers among others to comply. In China, feed manufacturers have now turned to their mill providers for support and advice. And, in turn, Famsun requested our help to identify and invite key experts on ASF control to a one-day conference to share knowledge and provide guidance.

Read the full article HERE.

Milling and Grain - May 2019 - available now!

Back issues available

April 25, 2019

Ocrim company profile

The important investments made by Ocrim are the demonstration of its will to grow. Many are its activities all around the world - in particular, milling plants, feed mills, bio-ethanol plants, silos, cereal conveying lines and electrical installations; but the underlying factor in all this is the industrialisation - in other words the standardisation - of production processes in order to cut primary costs, thus offering competitive prices without jeopardising product quality.

This is an efficient policy on which Ocrim will go on concentrating its efforts in the future, attaining trust, loyalty and consolidating its market share. The challenge is to further improve itself but in a manner consistent with its strategic and commercial plan.

Ocrim’s partnership with Paglierani and long-standing collaborations with sub-suppliers complete the added value that Ocrim is able to offer its customers, demonstrating the Italian spirit in a determined search for product quality without compromise.

Visit the website HERE.

Innovation of sustainably sourced global feed production, The FEED-X Challenge

WWF-founded enterprise Project X Global has opened the search for the next outstanding innovation to radically transform the global feed industry.

In partnership with Skretting, Climate-KIC, WWF and IKEA, FEED-X is now at a key stage of accelerating innovations across the feed sector, and is welcoming applications for sustainable feed innovations from entrepreneurs eager to commercialise their ideas.

The goal of the FEED-X programme is to ensure that the global feed industry can produce enough food to support the growing world population by shifting 10 percent of global feed production to sustainable sourcing from novel alternative solutions.

It aims to do so by 2025 – through sourcing, testing, financing and scaling alternative feed ingredients and technologies that affect feed. The programme will focus on salmon and shrimp; two aquaculture species with wholly different feed requirements and industry structures.

Project X has already hosted a category de-risking event where experts from Harvard University, Wageningen University Research, and Utrecht University among others presented their key findings.

Christoph Mathiesen, Sustainability Developer, IKEA of Sweden AB, shared his commitment to the programme, 'IKEA Food is committed to securing a more sustainable supply chain for our food business. We know that animal feed such as salmon feed can have negative impact on the climate, environment and biodiversity. We see the collaboration with Project X as a great opportunity to support sustainable food systems and accelerate the innovation in animal feed.'

FEED-X has lead partner support from one of the largest animal and aquaculture feed suppliers in the world – Nutreco, and its aquaculture division Skretting - which represent a significant share of the global feed market and €5.9 billion of purchasing power.

Strategic and financial support for the FEED-X programme has also come from IKEA (IKEA Supply AG), WWF and EIT Climate-KIC, and technical support from UNEPOne Planet, and Cambridge University.

The co-ordinated approach between organisations in the FEED-X programme will give entrepreneurs rare access to markets and allow them to commercialise their outstanding sustainable alternative feed solutions at scale.

The application is a two-stage process. Project X invites innovators to fill in the Expression of Interest form by the 10th of May, after which they will be provided with the application form. The applications will then be independently reviewed by an expert panel including high-profile individuals from a range of sectors.

Applications will be accepted no later than the 15th of May.

For more information on FEED-X click here and/or details on how your organisation can partner or support the project, contact:
Catherine Laurent-Polz, Portfolio Manager for ClimateKIC at Catherine.laurent-polz@climate-KIC.org, or
Anna Belorde, Senior Projects Manager for Project X Global at ab@projectxglobal.com.

Visit the FEED-X website, HERE.

In-house competences secure world leader position

by Cimbria

After more than 70 years in the business, it is remarkable that there are almost no two Cimbria plants that are 100 percent alike – but what they do have in common is that they meet the individual requirements that the customers may have.

This does not mean that each machine is specially developed every time, however. An obvious comparison could be that of Lego toys, which are recognised all over the world. A large number of different standard components can be combined and put together in countless ways to form a functional whole. And it is the same with a Cimbria plant.

Based on the industry’s biggest and broadest product range, the optimum, customised solution is developed in close collaboration between Cimbria and their customers. Indeed, if there is one particular area in which Cimbria really stand firm, then it is full flexibility. As a member of the AGCO group, Cimbria is part of the world’s leading agroindustrial company, boasting brands such as Fendt, Massey Ferguson, Valmet and GSI.

GSI operates in several areas with equipment and complete plants for poultry, pig-breeding and grain storage, as well as being the world’s biggest producer of round steel silos. These are now incorporated as an integral part of Cimbria’s product range, with the complete product range reflecting its role as global leader.

Developed and optimised over decades by the industry’s most experienced experts, the complete range covers everything all the way from individual machines to finished plants, including automation, project management, installation, supervision and training, not forgetting subsequent service and continuous optimisation of the plant.

Cimbria and GSI make up the world’s largest supplier of equipment, complete solutions and technologies to the industrial grain and seed business. Production of equipment takes place at more than 20 locations all over the world. This entails a sales and service presence that has global reach and enables comprehensive professional insight into the local requirements that are applicable in each individual market.

One of the latest in the line of production locations is found in Biatorbagy, an industrial estate outside Budapest, in Hungary. In 2014, the first part of the factory was opened, before being extended in 2017 so that it now covers more than 25,000 m2. It is at this facility that silos for the markets in Europe, the Middle East and Africa are now produced.

Read more HERE.

April 24, 2019

Yemmak company profile

Established in 1965, Yemmak is Turkey's leading feed machinery manufacturer, providing industrial process solutions for the animal waste processing, chemical and biomass industries.

Through its deep industry experience spanning over half a century, Yemmak exports to 35 countries on four continents, and provides services in project consulting and engineering, special-purpose projects, automation, modernization, steel construction and after-sales support with a 250-strong staff lead specialist engineers at its 50,000 m2 area plant in Bandırma, Turkey.

Yemmak is among the few producers in Turkey and Europe that can manage machinery, process and turnkey projects from a single centre.

Yemmak recognises the key role of advanced technology in improving Turkey's prospects and believes R&D investments are crucial in this regard.

As a global brand, Yemmak exports 70 percent of its products to 35 countries including Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Syria, Israel, Lebanon and the rest of the Middle East; Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan and all other Turkish republics; and Russia, Ukraine, Armenia, Sweden and Panama. Providing low energy costs, the design, production, and assembly operations of the company are of high quality, selection, reliability, and efficiency.

Yemmak sees each project as a complete system, and identifies for its customers the most optimal solutions. Yemmak stands out with its distinctive projects. With the mission of transforming factories into manufacturers that turn out products with high marginal utility, Yemmak has thus far set up numerous of the highest capacity factories, producing feed for poultry, cattle and fish. It is currently establishing the largest turkey feed factory in Russia.

Yemmak's primary product groups consist of:

- Raw material intake and cleaning units
- Storage solutions for solid and liquid raw materials
- Grinders
- Mixer systems
- Blending units
- Pelletising technologies
- Weighing and bagging machinery
- Transport equipment
- Electrical power panels and control panels
- Automation systems

Yemmak reshapes production through environmentally friendly, sustainable and innovative technologies.

Visit the Yemmak website, HERE.

Andreas Kratzer appointed President and CEO of Bühler Aeroglide

Bühler Aeroglide, a global leader in thermal process engineering and technology for food, feed, and industrial materials, has announced the appointment of Andreas Kratzer, PhD, as new President and CEO, effective April 1, 2019.

Most recently, Dr Kratzer served as Managing Director for the Bühler AG, Pasta and Noodles Business Unit in Uzwil, Switzerland. Dr Kratzer succeeds Andy Sharpe, who was appointed President and CEO of North America last year.

Andreas Kratzer

Andreas Kratzer has a long history with Bühler, having worked across many functions of the organisation that include sales, research, business development and executive leadership.

Dr Kratzer joined Buhler in 2007 as Research and Development Manager of Pasta Technology, leading internal research and development projects, pilot plant trials, and technical sales support. In 2010, he was appointed Head of Business Development followed by Head of the Pasta Market, defining business strategies, collaborating with merger and acquisition projects while managing key account teams. In 2013, he served as Sales Director before becoming Managing Director of the Pasta & Noodles segment in 2014.

Dr Kratzer joins Bühler Aeroglide during a time of industry leading advances in digital services and technology solutions, as the company works with customers to meet the Bühler goal to reduce both energy consumption and waste by 30%, in the year 2020.

'It's an exciting time to take over the helm of Bühler Aeroglide, a place where entrepreneurship, accountability and innovation thrive,' said Dr Kratzer of the company's total quality management culture.

'I look forward to helping the company continue to provide the most advanced processing equipment for the market, leveraging Bühler Insights with IoT solutions that are ready for the future. As President and CEO, I will strive to bolster Bühler Aeroglide's world class exertise, the gold standard in thermal processing solutions, to help our customers be profitable and continue to grow across all industries.'

Dr Kratzer studied food science at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich (ETH) where he received a doctorate of philosophy. Dr Kratzer is a regular contributor to food technology education at ETH, providing lectures that explain the microstructure of pasta and design processing.

Visit the Bühler Group website, HERE.

New survey finds that animal protein consumption to increase as part of a healthy and sustainable diet

Meat, fish and eggs can be an important part of a healthy and environmentally responsible diet, say consumers in new global research from Cargill.

And they plan to keep eating them too—along with plant-based dietary protein. More than two-thirds of respondents say they intend to maintain or increase their consumption of animal protein in the next year. Four-fifths of participants express interest in plant-based or alternative sources of protein.

'We're pleased consumers see animal protein as an important part of a healthy diet,' said Chuck Warta, president of Cargill's premix and nutrition business. 'Dietary guidance consistently emphasises the benefits of adequate protein intake from a variety of sources. Our aim is to help our livestock, poultry and aquaculture customers meet the growing global demand for protein in the most healthy, productive and sustainable way possible.'

In its latest Feed4Thought survey, Cargill found 93 percent of respondents across the US, Brazil, the Netherlands and Vietnam say they care about our ability to feed the world sustainably, with 84 percent saying that it impacts what they buy. Animal protein makes the cut, according to most consumers, with 80 percent of survey participants saying it can be part of an environmentally responsible regimen and 93 percent saying it can play an important role in a healthy diet.

'Access to poultry meat and eggs can rapidly improve people's diets and have a major impact on their lives,' said Pierre Ferrari, president and CEO of Heifer International. Cargill recently partnered with Heifer to launch Hatching Hope, an initiative aimed at improving the nutrition and livelihoods of 100 million people by 2030, by training and opening markets for subsistence poultry farmers and providing nutrition education for their communities.

'We're investing in smart, resourceful women farmers, working with them to improve their products, access new markets and build sustainable businesses that generate living incomes,' said Mr Ferrari.

Consumers expect companies like Cargill to step up. When asked who bears most responsibility for ensuring food production is sustainable, almost a third of participants selected food and feed manufacturers as their top choice. Governments came in second (25 percent) and then consumers via the foods we eat (20 percent).

Cargill takes this responsibility seriously, with new policies on South American sustainable soy, human rights and deforestation, and partnerships, like The Nature Conservancy-Nestle Purina-Cargill initiative to help US farmers conserve irrigation water.

For more information visit the Cargill website, HERE.

Selecting optimal mixer options in feed milling

by Detlef Bunzel, Evonik, Germany

Dosing and mixing are two of the major procedures in feed milling. Getting them right can have a significant impact on feed quality and the cost effectiveness of the process.

The design of this process depends on the number and properties of ingredients, dose rates and required output. Feed production ingredients are usually mixed in a batch, due to the amount of ingredients and frequent changes in feed formulation. Even though the number of ingredients may vary, different groups can be classified:

• Main ingredients (soy, corn and wheat etc., typically > 5% of the formulation)

• Minerals and major additives (limestone, salt, phosphorus etc., 1-5% of the formulation)

• Micro ingredients (amino acids, vitamins, < 1% of the formulation)

• Medication (<< 0.1%)

Most of these ingredients (typically > 95%) are added as dry bulk. Dry bulk ingredients are weighed on scales per batch and the accuracy of scales depends on their weighing ranges. Therefore, individual scales with corresponding and appropriate weighing ranges are needed to weigh main, minor and micro ingredients (Regulation (EC) No 183/2005 of the European Parliament, Annex II).

Dry bulk ingredients are loaded into the mixer, after dosing and weighing, at the beginning of the mixing cycle.

Certain ingredients are added as liquid (oil, fat, molasses, water, acids and other additives, usually < five percent. These are dosed via flow meters or on scales and sprayed onto the dry mash during the mixing cycle. In order to ensure continuous operation of the pellet mills, the capacity of the batch mixing line will be defined based on the design capacity of the pelletising line.

Read more HERE.

Pages

April 30, 2019

April 29, 2019

April 28, 2019

April 26, 2019

Back issues available

April 25, 2019

April 24, 2019