World Grain - October 2021 - 69

Schalk Mühle adds Bühler SORTEX optical sorter
LONDON, ENGLAND - Schalk Mühle added a new processing/cleaning
line for seeds and pulses, which features
a Bühler SORTEX A optical sorter, at its facility in Styria,
Austria.
" We needed to be able to deliver the highest-quality end
product that could be sorted entirely in-house; previously we
were outsourcing, " said Rainer Schalk, chief executive officer
of Schalk Mühle. " The SORTEX A was the perfect fit. It was
our first optical sorter and it's ensured 99.9% product quality,
which would otherwise be extremely difficult to achieve.
The SORTEX A works very well with the other machines in
the line, too. It provides a seal of quality assurance for our
partners and customers that we wouldn't get with any other
provider. "
Schalk Mühle is a provider of organic seed, kernel, grain
and pulse products. It is renowned for its pumpkin seed oil.
" Schalk Mühle is a sixth-generation family business, "
Rainer Schalk said. " My family operated a flour mill here for
more than 150 years, which has since become a popular tourist
museum. In 1950, we started with our first oil press.
" Today, we sell pumpkin seeds, linseeds, sunflower seeds,
lentils, beans and chickpeas, organic plant-based oils for
cooking and seasoning food, snacks, pestos, creams and protein
products for our fitness-orientated customers. "
Having premises in Ilz on the Feistritz River is extremely
fortuitous, as it enables Schalk Mühle to minimize its costs
and environmental impact by generating its own hydroelectric
power. This combined with solar power generated on site enables
Schalk Mühle to produce 200% of the electricity it uses
each year, some of which is given back to the local community.
" Growing nuts, seeds and kernels naturally leaves a very
small carbon footprint, " Rainer Schalk said. " And thanks to
our environmentally friendly hydropower and solar power,
we produce a wide range of CO2
-neutral organic foods, which
helps to set us apart from our competitors. "
As Schalk explains, removing foreign materials (FM) such
as tiny pieces of stone, plastic and wood can be a big challenge
when cleaning pumpkin seeds and other crops.
" The SORTEX A is key to our cleaning process, " he said.
" As well as FM, it successfully removes white and damaged
pumpkin seeds. We also use it for flax seeds, chickpeas,
beans and hemp seeds - we have the flexibility we need. Our
SORTEX A stands at the end of our cleaning line to provide
quality assurance. There are older Bühler machines in our museum,
so before buying the SORTEX A we knew how Bühler's
solutions performed. The support and aftercare we've always
received has been excellent with annual visits from Bühler's
local Salzburg-based service engineers who work with us to
ensure optimum performance of our SORTEX A. "
Schalk Mühle has been a part of Austria's organic movement
for more than 20 years. More than 25% of Austria's total
farming land is organic and it has one of the world's highest
densities of organic farmers.
" We wanted to set up an organic business for local
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communities and then sell their produce worldwide, " he said.
" Organic farming is better for the environment, people and the
future. We have our own farm where we teach best practices.
We share knowledge that enables Austrian farmers to grow
a diverse range of crops. Soybeans and wheat are the most
common organic crops that Austrian farmers grow, but they're
less aware of the opportunities offered by the more specialized
crops such as flax, hemp, sunflower and pumpkin seeds. "
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