19/03/2015: SPECIAL FOCUS: The Roff R70

First published in Milling and Grain, February 2015

The Roff R70, launched 17 April 2013 on the farm of Mr Flippie Blignaut, is arguably South Africa’s most cost-effective, compact four tonne per hour mill. Roff has already installed two of these mills in Zimbabwe to ensure more affordable food staples for the public by reducing supply chain and distribution costs.

Perfect setting for the R70 - As a successful business built through hard work, innovative thinking and the agility to adapt to changes in the marketplace, Mr Blignaut’s farm provided the ideal backdrop for the South African launch of the versatile R70.

The farm’s mill, Sardinia Milling, was established 13 years ago to add value to the primary crop, maize. A combined farming model ensures optimised efficiency and an increased profit margin. Maize is produced, stored in silos on site, high quality endosperm is extracted and marketed as top-notch meal, and maize bran – a by-product of the milling process – is used as base for the animal feed provided to cattle feeding schemes.
  

As such, maize only leaves the farm in the form of meal and livestock. This model shortens the supply chain to ensure maximum profitability. The end-user also benefits, as a large percentage of the product is distributed within in a small radius, which keeps distribution costs to a minimum.

Grown across a huge part of Africa, there is a move towards processing and distributing maize in the area in which it has been produced. Entrepreneurs can still supply to other areas if it proves profitable, but by supplying more maize in the vicinity of the farm, transport costs are greatly reduced.

The Roff R70 mill can play a significant role in the reduction of supply chain and distribution costs, as it provides a compact, all-in-one solution to farmers like Mr Blignaut.

R70’s innovative design optimises productivity The Roff R70 comes standard with a surge bin for maize inlet, cleaning and conditioning equipment (with a conditioning bin), degermination, milling, sifting, conveyors, electrical panel, electrical cabling and all steel structures. Clients only need to provide the building, water point and electrical supply to the panel.

• Compact to save floor space and reduce installation costs, the Roff R70 has the capacity to produce 100 tonnes of maize per day. This equates to 30,000 tonnes per year, which is a potential annual turnover of R100 million;
• The R70 is one of the best value for money maize mills on the market, with the cost of the installed mill in South Africa between R2.5 million and R3.5 million for a 4 tonne per hour plant, with smaller capacity options also available;
• To reduce installation time on site, the mills are pre-assembled in the Roff factory;
• Sheet metal parts are laser-cut to ensure excellent quality;
• All operational equipment is installed across two levels, so that processes are visible from multiple angles. This enables the miller contact with the process and easy control of the plant;
• All components are easily reachable. The top floor is not an operational floor, but mainly used for maintenance purposes;
• The R70 is a proudly South African mill. With the exception of a few small parts, it is manufactured in Roff’s Kroonstad factory; and
• For the client’s peace of mind, the R70 is covered by an optional maintenance contract.

Adding value to a wide client base - Small enterprises can also benefit from the Roff R70 mill, as it can be installed at two tonnes per hour on a similar platform as the R70 on the Blignaut farm. It is easily upgradable to a four tonne per hour configuration without missing more than 48 hours of production time during the upgrade.

Read the magazine HERE.

The Global Miller
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