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June 03, 2019

Traditional milling down through the ages

by Roger Gilbert, Milling and Grain
 

The writing was on the wall! It clearly stated the company was formed in 1800.

The full-wall image proclaimed the formation of this long-established Italian miller on Via Pana at Faenza, just south of Imola, in Northern Italy – was 1800, making it over 200 years in the hands of one family, the Naldoni family.

That’s what brother’s Alberto and Walter Naldoni and their cousin Piero Naldoni believed when they did a brand re-launch and the opening of the milling site for the new Molino Naldoni Flour Mills.

However, the truth is much different.

At the launch, local historians informed the company that it has found documentation that dated the company cooperation in milling from 1705, making this family company over 300-years-old and yet still in the hands of one family. This must be one of the oldest, family-owned flour mills on record anywhere.

Local historians had researched the family’s milling operations back to water mills in the area to 1705.

“A lot of people have asked about this difference since then,” says the company’s General Manager Alberto Naldoni, with a smile. It was Alberto and Pier’s fathers who took over the milling operation of the main mill in 1954 and introduced roller mills to the family business the first time. It is their picture on the wall of the company’s board room on the new Faenza site.

That mill is situated some 13km from the new mill at Faenza. The original 1954 mill, with its eight-stages of rolls, was built by a local company and produced 15 tonnes of flour per day. It replaced the original stone mill of 1800 which had itself been modernised in 1935.

Some 13 years later, in 1977, the company expanded again and installed a 16-stage roller mill to produce 45 tonnes per day. This time the milling equipment and build was carried out by Golfetto Sangati of Quinto de Treviso.

It was not long before this mill had reached capacity and was being run “24-seven.” By 1999 it had to be expanded, this time adding a cleaning section and taking the mill up to 150 tonnes per day.

The modernised mill of 1999 is still operating and it too reached capacity some five years ago and today is working 24 hours-per-day and seven-days-per-week.


Read more 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.


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