The Global Miller

April 05, 2020

ADM advances sustainability commitments with ambitious new plan

Archer Daniels Midland Company (ADM), a world leader in food processing, has recently announced an ambitious new plan to reduce its absolute greenhouse gas emissions by 25 percent and its energy intensity by 15 percent by 2035.

'Every single day, ADM is focused on keeping its employees healthy and safe while simultaneously ensuring we are continuing to support the world's food supply,' said Chairman and CEO Juan Luciano.

Image credit: Nanashino Gombie on Flickr
(CC BY 2.0)

'At the same time, we believe it remains vitally important that we continue to plan for the future and remain good long-term stewards of our company and our planet. We know that the health of our natural resources are critical to our future. Consumers around the world know it as well, and they are making it clear that they expect their food and drink to come from sustainable ingredients, produced by companies that share their values. We care deeply about our partners, our customers, our employees, our shareholders, and the planet, and that is why we are setting these ambitious emissions and energy goals for ourselves. Our future will be stronger for these goals.'

The new goals follow on ADM's original '15x20' plan, unveiled in 2011, in which the company committed to per-unit improvements in energy use, greenhouse gas emissions, water and waste to landfill by 2020.

After meeting those goals ahead of schedule, ADM engaged WSP Global, one of the world's leading engineering professional services firms, to conduct an in-depth feasibility study to help shape a new set of commitments to combat climate change.

WSP's study, identified several pathways toward success, including:
• Purchasing renewable electricity
• Increasing use of biomass fuels
• Transportation fleet changes
• Equipment changes in some locations

'Our new goals are ambitious yet achievable,' Mr Luciano continued. 'The greenhouse gas emissions we'll save will be the equivalent of those from charging every single smart phone on the planet 250 times. This is going to have a real impact, and is a key way in which we're going to continue to give our customers an edge in meeting the market challenges of today and tomorrow.'

ADM's new goals are only one element of a wide-ranging plan to pave the way on sustainability. In 2019, ADM's Board formed a new committee on Sustainability and Corporate Responsibility, offering guidance, leadership and oversight at the highest level for our sustainability and corporate citizenship efforts. The company is increasingly using technology – such as satellite imagery – as it maps its supply chains. And in December, ADM was shortlisted as a Sustainability Champion by the Food Ingredients Innovation awards for its work promoting and supporting sustainable agricultural practices among more than 12,000 smallholder farmers in Brazil and Paraguay.

Visit the ADM 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

Beyond the Ri’ichi: Part 3: Processing long-grain rice – Husking

by Hiromi Saita, Senior Staff, International Management Office, Satake Corporation, Japan

Long grain rice processing, as well as short grain, requires unique technology and techniques due to their physical characteristics. As a manufacturer, we continuously develop and improve equipment for long grain rice. Satake utilises technology gained from a long history of processing short grain rice and experience from processing various products.

Let’s take a look at long grain paddy husking
There are two basic yet fundamentally important requirements to husk long grain rice. Firstly, proper paddy feeding to the husking equipment is required. When feeding paddy in vertical free fall, grain may overlap each other and cause grain breakage due to excessive pressure at a localised point on the grain.

In other words, inappropriate feeding leads to a drastic decrease in yield for long grain rice. It is important to feed paddy evenly without stacking, to ensure the long life of the husking equipment. Secondly, in many 24-hour-operation large-scale facilities, the two rubber rolls are swapped every one or two days to evenly distribute rolls wear.

When using poor quality rubber rolls, swapping become more frequent, so does downtime and it becomes more significant as the number of machines increases. Sometimes, at these facilities, operators are hired specifically for rubber rolls swapping and replacement. To reduce machine maintenance and down time, it is important to increase the throughput capacity of each machine while minimising the frequency of roll swapping and replacement.

Satake, in 1997, adopted its time proven Optical Sorter Product Conveying Chute to achieve steady paddy feed. The technology originally developed for the Optical Sorters was adopted for Huskers. Paddy was conveyed in the chute without overlapping and then fed into the gap centerline between the two, left and right, rubber rolls.

The rubber rolls were laid out in an inclined position perpendicular to the chute. The Satake Husker not only achieved steady single layer product conveyance but also increased husking capacity. However, this solution required constant adjustment of the chute angles to re-direct the flow of paddy towards the gap centerline as it keeps shifting, as the rubber rolls gradually wear out. Satake resolved this issue by incorporating a mechanism that adjusts the chute angle automatically in Huskers FT-type, introduced in 2004.

Read more HERE.

Pingle company profile

PINGLE has proudly served customers for more than 20 years. They are a Chinese manufacturer that is committed to the development, production, distribution, installation, and testing of flour milling machines.

Their main products include the roller mill, square plansifter, purifier, multi-storey flour milling plant, and the steel structure flour milling plant. Additionally, they can provide stand-alone machines in the 9 to 1,000t range, which include popular selections such as the grain pre-cleaner, grain cleaning equipment, flour milling machine, flour processing equipment, maize processing equipment, and conveying equipment.

Also available are turnkey projects for flour milling plants with capacity ranging from 100 to 1000t.

Their technical solutions and high performance machinery are implemented worldwide for the fine processing of wheat, maize, and other types of cereal grains.

Pingle have a staff of 800 employees, of whom there are more than 50 technical personnel. These technicians are expert in fields such as mechanical structure, processing technology, automated control, and production flow. Their dedication and ingenuity allow the introduction of new products whilst providing upgrades for existing lineups.

Product diversity and sincere services have distinguished Pingle as a leading domestic supplier. Their sales revenue has exceeded 150 million RMB for three consecutive years.

Pingle’s flour processing machinery is available in more than 60 distinctive models. According to the Pingle website, “we are recognised as the first Chinese manufacturer to adopt the ERP system. As a pioneer in the industry, we have introduced the steel structure flour milling plant and the multi-storey steel structure flour milling plant to the Chinese market. In 2000, our company successfully obtained self-managed import and export rights for private enterprises.”

Pingle have passed the ISO9001:2000 Quality Management System certification and established a complete quality assurance system.

In 2009, PINGLE products were distributed worldwide across 32 countries and regions including Egypt, Ethiopia, India, Brazil, Australia, etc. As a mature and responsible enterprise, Pingle strive to provide customers everywhere with satisfying products and attentive services.

For more information visit the Pingle website, HERE.

April 02, 2020

Extru-Tech Inc company profile

Founded in 1985, Extru-Tech® has installed numerous extrusion systems worldwide designed for the production of human food, pet food, aquatic feed and animal feed products.

Extru-Tech® also maintains the reputation of supplying the extrusion industry with superior quality replacement parts.

Extru-Tech® currently produces and markets one of the industry's most complete lines of extrusion processing systems.

In addition, they offer a full line of ancillary equipment and customised equipment solutions for specialised processes

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

April 01, 2020

Ottevanger Milling Engineers company profile

Ottevanger Milling Engineers is a leading European company in the design and manufacture of equipment and complete installations for the grain-processing and mixed-feed industries.

Food producers throughout the world use these installations to produce food for people and animals. In modern, well-equipped plants in Aalten and Moerkapelle (The Netherlands) Ottevanger's specialists use the latest technologies to design and manufacture a comprehensive range of products.

Computer-controlled plants – anywhere in the world – are provided with on-line technical support from these plants. In its design of any installation Ottevanger takes into account the strictest environmental regulations and safety requirements.

There are, for example, always adequate facilities for air purification as well as sound and heat insulation. A lot of attention is also devoted to hygiene through the use of stainless steel and special coatings.

Thanks to its expert knowledge and expertise, amassed throughout its over one hundred years' experience, Ottevanger is the ideal partner for the implementation of your project.

Read more on the Milling and Grain website, HERE.

Visit the Ottevanger website, HERE.

Ardent Mills goodwill gesture supports bread giveaway initiative

Leading North American flour supplier and grain innovator Ardent Mills has recently donated 2,500 lbs or 1,133kg of flour to Schmidt's Pastry Cottage in South Jordan, Utah, to assist in keeping the Schmidt's bread giveaway going for weeks to come.

Image credit: Stacy Spensley on Flickr
(CC BY 2.0)

A recent article published by Deseret News explained that staff at Schmidt's Pastry Cottage had originally thought the phone call offer to donate the flour was a joke, but were then blown away when they discovered it was a legitimate offer.

According to Brett Borg from Schmidt's Pastry Cottage, this flour donation will be enough to produce an additional 6,500 loaves of bread. Schmidt's Pastry Cottage has been giving two loaves of bread to customers during the COVID-19 outbreak, one to enjoy themselves, and the second to share.

Ardent Mills employee, Alex Nelson, was the first to heard about the daily bread giveaway during a TV news article. Mr Nelson commented, ''I saw what they were doing, and I thought we could help out. Despite all the bad news you hear about bread, we feel like it's a nourishing food.'

Visit the Ardent Mills website, HERE.

North American Millers’ Association committed to abundant flow of affordable food products

North American Millers' Association (NAMA) has been actively monitoring the growing spread of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) both internationally and domestically, and the impacts it will have on consumers and the food supply industry.

In a recent press statement, they expressed that the US food supply and supply chain, including the flour milling industry, is very strong, and grain-millers will continue to work to supply retail customers and consumers.

The US Department of Homeland Security has defined the food supply as one of the nation's critical infrastructure sectors, and NAMA members, along with other food companies, and in collaboration with the White House Coronavirus Task Force, are working to ensure a consistent and reliable flow of safe, nutritious and affordable food, such as flour, to food manufacturers and retail locations throughout the country.

Image credit: Clare Black on Flickr
(CC BY 2.0)

'Flour and other grain-based foods are staples, and are essential, nutritious parts of the American diet,' said James McCarthy, President & CEO, 'and millers are taking a comprehensive approach to ensure the consistent delivery of safe, nutritious and affordable flour and flour-based food products to consumers in the US and throughout North America. The milling industry has faced emergencies and natural disasters before, and the milling industry will continue serving our communities each and every day.'

Even during this pandemic, US food system continues to adhere to the highest food safety and regulatory standards, which includes high levels of sanitation, food safety testing and monitoring in food processing and handling environments.

According to multiple public health agencies around the world, including the CDC, FDA, WHO and EFSA, coronaviruses are primarily spread from person-to-person, NOT via food. NAMA continues to work closely with food safety experts, public health officials, the White House Coronavirus Task Force and the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to ensure the food production system remains safe and consistent.

NAMA holds the health and safety of their member company's employees as a top priority. Because of the nature of duties performed, most milling production workers do not work in continuous close proximity to one another.

The milling industry is following CDC government guidance and taking additional steps to maximise the health and safety or our employees, including: employing social distancing procedures where applicable, providing additional health screening of employees, using additional safety gear and products, including masks, respirators and sanitisers, and increasing in the frequency of cleaning, deep cleaning and the use of anti-viral cleansers.

For more information visit the NAMA website, HERE.

Pages