Flour Milling Innovations
Innovations Improving Flour Quality & Plant Efficiency
Flour production has always been an important factor within the food industry, as products that contain flour grace just about every pantry shelf the world over. Challenges within the milling sector are constant concerning things like keeping costs down, health and safety, quality and improved automation. There have been many advances and innovations over the years that have streamlined the industry resulting in an extremely superior product.
The COVID -19 virus came along with its own set of challenges that flour mills had to rise to. Additional steps had to be taken to ensure that the quality and safety of flour was not compromised. Equipment suppliers and plant engineers were required to come up with new technologies in design and construction to address any problems.
Competition Within the Flour Milling Industry
In addition to these changes, the pandemic increased the demand for flour worldwide, as people during lockdown turned their hands to baking their own bread etc. Flour flew off the supermarket shelves, and sales increased by 92% in one month when the virus first hit. UK flour mills doubled their production, and introduced night shifts for their workers but still fell short of the required amounts. The flour milling industry responded well to the crisis though, and soon the normal status quo was reached.
Flour milling is an age old industry, but these days it’s about innovation, an important factor if companies want to survive. Competition is fierce in this sector, and without constant developments and new, better ways of doing things, companies will not survive.
Properly Designed & Built Plant, Low Maintenance Processing Equipment
A key factor in the success of flour producers is the quality and efficiency of their flour mills. High capacity machinery can achieve lower production costs, while maintaining or boosting the output volume. Properly designed, built and installed processing plants also require less maintenance and break down less often. Any unplanned stoppages can disrupt the flow and negatively impact production. Machinery that is safe, less noisy and user friendly will improve working conditions for staff, which will also have positive results.
Accurate and consistent mixing of various types of wheat is assured by the use of feeders which automatically feed the correct amount of wheat according to the recipe. They register the total weight, and can be used with raw wheat silos and tempering bins.
Market Leading Innovations in Equipment for Flour Production
Innovative peeling and debranning equipment decreases the chance of contamination from toxins and chemical residue. Abrasive elements are used to remove large amounts of the outer bran. The system has a number of advantages including reduced wheat ash, faster tempering time, increased capacity, improved mill performance and excellent flour quality. Satake was the first company to introduce this technology for wheat mills, developed further by Omas who introduced the Dante system.
Other advancements include the aerodynamic design of chamber structures which provide air circulation and keep roller temperature low. Quality control is made easier by the near-infrared (NIR) instrument which monitors and records protein, moisture content, ash, colour value and amount of specks. Market leaders Bühler are constantly working to improve milling equipment, and have introduced some cutting edge equipment. Bühler boast a number of innovations such as the operation system Mercury MES, Diorit roller mills, and Norit purifiers.