World Grain - November 2022 - 54

FEATURE: BERTE QVARN EMBRACING FUTURE WITH OAT REVIVAL
Bühler supplied
equipment
for the entire
process
from intake
to cleaning,
dehulling and
kilning.
and equipped the wheat mill with their state-of-the-art
technology, so it was a seamless transition for all of us
at Berte Qvarn, " said Magnus Lindblom, wheat miller
turned oat miller.
Lindblom volunteered to be trained as an oat miller
when he learned about the company's decision to start
processing oats. He has spent 20 years in wheat milling.
" I'm proud to work for Berte Qvarn and be able to contribute
to a more sustainable future, " he said. " Adding
oats to our portfolio was a natural choice for me, and I
had to grab this chance. Not only because I'm convinced
of the many benefits oats bring to the table, but to broaden
my horizon and add new skills to my own portfolio. "
A testament to the company's drive for sustainability
is its onsite hydroelectric power station. It soon will be
upgraded to supply up to 40% of the energy needs for
the milling operations.
The oat facility produces 16,000-17,000 tonnes of
kilned oats per year, processing 24,000 tonnes to 25,000
tonnes of raw oats and 16,000 tonnes to 17,000 tonnes of
kernels per year. It has an intake capacity of 90 tonnes per
hour (tph) and output of about 50 tph of finished product.
" From intake, oats are sorted using the latest generation
of optical sorters ensures the highest food safety
by reducing cross contamination from other grain varieties,
discoloration, subtle spots and various foreign
material, " Höhndorf said. After cleaning, the oats are
dehulled and kilned before being loaded into Berte
Qvarn trucks for delivery to Oatly.
The Mercury Manufacturing Execution
System
(MES) provides all relevant process details at an operator's
fingertips.
" That's an incredible level of efficiency if you com54
pare
it to the older days, when a miller had to constantly
walk though the mill and check parameters manually, "
Lindblom said.
Lindblom, along with his colleague, operates the entire
plant in two shifts of 12 hours each. Because of the
high-level of automation, Lindblom has four days off a
week to spend with his family.
Continuous training and customer service offered
by Bühler are essential in helping the facility reach the
next level, Lindblom said.
" State-of-the-art equipment requires a state-of-theart
service agreement, " he said. " Bühler's continuous
support and the regular training we receive are indispensable
to getting the most out of our facility. "
Berte Qvarn is now looking into the possibilities
offered by Bühler Insights, the company's cloud platform.
The goal is to collect even more data from the
company's processes and turn that into ways to increase
output and reduce food loss.
" At the end of the day, we have a responsibility as
food processors to use our planet's resources as efficiently
as possible and create sustainable food value
chains for future generations, " Lindblom said.
Oats will continue to be a part of Berte Qvarn's future
plans, Stenström said. The oat mill is equipped
with solutions for providing a larger variety of end
products, such as flour and flakes.
" We're prepared to increase our output and do our
part to facilitate the comeback of oats to supermarket
shelves around the world, " she said.
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email reprints@sosland.com.
November 2022 / World Grain / World-Grain.com
http://www.World-Grain.com
World Grain - November 2022

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