Gluten-free pasta, safe foods, highly efficient grain processing solutions and global service stations: Bühler is presenting itself as a global solution partner to the food industry at this year’s Ipack-Ima in Milan, the trade fair for processing and packaging technology. “Food evokes an emotional response and also has regional ties", says Stefan Scheiber, CEO Grains & Food at Bühler. “Our comprehensive process and solution know-how allows us to produce regional foods on an industrial scale, and in a way that is both economical and safe. At the same time, we ensure, with our global service network, the highest utilization rates of customer installations around the world”, says Scheiber. This year's booth will focus on application-specific solutions and innovative process technologies as well as high energy efficiency and food safety.

Some 65 percent of the global wheat harvest is processed on Bühler roller mills, and more than half of the world’s industrially produced pasta passes through Bühler extruders. What began more than 150 years ago as a machine builder in Uzwil, in eastern Switzerland, has since evolved into a global engineering and solution provider with around 140 locations worldwide. At Ipack-Ima, the global exhibition for processing and packaging technologies in Milan that takes places every three years, Bühler demonstrates its wide-ranging solution competency along the entire processing chain from grains to food.
The market and technology leader will showcase an innovative process technology for manufacturing gluten-free pasta, among other advances. The Polymatik press can produce pasta from gluten-free raw materials such as corn and rice, in the same quality and with the same firm texture as conventional pasta. Bühler will also present solutions for the industrial processing of Atta, a wholegrain wheat flour used in India, and the production of noodles specifically for the Asian market.

Energy-efficient processes for better environmental balance
The new Antares Plus roller mill will also make its world debut at the exhibition. With integrated measurement of and control over particle size distribution, this new mill delivers a constant optimum grinding effect while simultaneously reducing energy consumption. Such a high level of automation has never been seen before in grain processing. The Ecothermatik long-cut pasta dryer, which Bühler will introduce for the first time in Milan with a processing capacity of up to 5,500 kilograms per hour, impresses with its high energy efficiency and better environmental balance. Thanks to in-process heat recovery, Ecothermatik dryers require 40% less thermal energy. Physical improvements made to the drying process also significantly increase the quality of the end product and shorten the time needed for drying. A new bran finisher, which Bühler is also exhibiting, demands 30% less energy thanks to its beltless direct drive. It reliably separates any remaining flour particles from the bran and improves the flour yield thanks to an optimized beater rate and circumferential speed.

Solutions for improved safety in the food industry
Food safety is another hot topic at the trade fair. Recent events have again forced the food industry to confront it as a matter of priority. Bühler supports its customers in eliminating specific hazards caused by micro-organisms, mycotoxins and foreign material in all applications. At IPACK-IMA, the market and technology leader will present various solutions to dramatically improve safety in grain processing. For example, the new Matador impact machine destroys insects and their eggs in flour or semolina with absolute dependability. Optical sorting methods also play an important role in removing moldy kernels or foreign material from grains or rice. One clear example of Bühler’s competency in this field is the Sortex A sorter and its diverse range of automatic sort functions. The company will also highlight a control sieve that efficiently removes foreign material from powdered and granular substances. The sieve was developed in line with the principles of hygienic design and offers especially easy access for fast, thorough cleaning.

Truong Duy