World Grain - January 2022 - 64

SUPPLIER NEWS
Mühlenchemie opens new facility in Kenya
NAIROBI, KENYA
- Flour treatment
specialist
Mühlenchemie has opened a new Technology Center in
Nairobi, the capital of Kenya. The subsidiary is operating as
Stern Ingredients East Africa Ltd. and is the company's second
location for applications research and consulting on flour
standardization, improvement and enrichment in Africa.
The company said the MC Technology Center will help
the milling industry in East Africa maintain consistently high
standards in the production of flour and react more quickly to
changing requirements in the markets and in raw materials.
Simultaneously the rheology and baking laboratory in Nairobi
will serve as a center for knowledge transfer throughout the
African continent.
The heart of the new subsidiary is a baking laboratory and
technical center for development and consulting, with 400
square meters of space and equipment for flour and grain analysis.
A trial bakery with the latest machinery, including spiral
kneaders, rolling machines, deck ovens and convection ovens,
allows for extensive testing. In the lab, baking processes can
be simulated, and the effects of enzymes and other ingredients
tested. Tests can be run in collaboration with local mills, and
the results quickly implemented in regular operations.
There is also a rheology laboratory, and the space offers capacity
for further expansion.
" With its extensive outfitting, the new subsidiary will
not just provide new impetus for the milling industry in
its region but will also be a milestone in the standardization
and enrichment of flour on the entire continent, " said
Norman Loop, regional director, Middle East & Africa,
for Mühlenchemie.
The company's technical specialists already advise mills in
Cameroon, South Africa, Nigeria and Egypt. Mühlenchemie
has operated a baking laboratory in Nigeria since 2017.
" The new facility is intended as a knowledge hub for these
specialists and for users, and will make communications and
deliveries much faster, " Loop said.
Loop said a local team of baking technicians in Nairobi will
work on the current challenges of mills in East Africa. In addition
to analyses of grain and flour, the flour treatment specialists
there will offer training, seminars and workshops.
" The flour experts in Nairobi bring with them long experience
in the milling industry on the African market, " Loop said.
" They will contribute all of the knowledge that Mühlenchemie
has built up around the globe and enrich the new location with
their own expertise. "
Commercial direction of the new location will be in the
hands of Khalif Steinbrich, area sales manager, East Africa.
Steinbrich is familiar with the African market and has extensive
experience in customer consulting, the company said.
64
The laboratory will be under the direction of David Nolte.
A trained miller, Nolte has worked for Mühlenchemie for 13
years as an applications' engineer for Milling and Rheology
and has extensive knowledge of the East African milling industry,
the company said.
The Kenyan location is of strategic importance for the
African milling industry, Mühlenchemie said. With its growing
population and prosperity, the demand for safe, highquality,
affordable food is rising.
The volatile grain market presents East African mills with
the challenge of responding ever more quickly to new conditions.
Since the region is heavily agricultural, much of the
Flour treatment specialist Mühlenchemie opened a new Technology
Center in Nairobi, the capital of Kenya. The subsidiary is
operating as Stern Ingredients East Africa Ltd.
raw materials like wheat and corn are locally sourced. With
the analysis capacity of this new location, Mühlenchemie
said it can develop solutions for individual needs and make
them available to mills much faster.
Furthermore, personal communication between customer
and consultant from field to final product will be much
more direct.
" With the new location in Nairobi, we are further expanding
our worldwide network and adapting our products and
services to the local market, " Loop said. " In doing so, we
can build on our global expertise. Meanwhile, the knowledge
that we gain on the African market will contribute to
the further development of our services in other parts of
the world. "
January 2022 / World Grain / www.World-Grain.com
http://www.World-Grain.com
World Grain - January 2022

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of World Grain - January 2022
