“When planning a new plant investment in milling, first of all, the following main points must be considered: the supply of the raw materials, how and what kind of product the market needs, transport facilities, energy costs, labor, ease of maintenance for machines and hygiene.”

Milan Shah Technical Manager Alapala Machine The efficient and trouble-free production of a mill is directly proportional to how well the mill is designed and how well it is suitable for the selected equipment. The choice of location on a mill project is a strategic issue that needs to be determined as a result of the feasibility study. Many factors must be carefully considered together. Commercial approaches are a priority here, and they need to be locally close to the raw material and the market

When planning a new plant investment in milling, first of all, the following main points must be considered: how to supply the raw materials, how and what kind of product the market needs, transport facilities, energy costs, labor, ease of maintenance for machines and hygiene. The ease of transportation must be taken into account for the choice of facility site and the implementation of the settlement plan. In addition, the administrative building has to be designed in a position that dominates the entrance and exit.

The country, region or different areas of use of the mill affect the design of the mill. For example, in countries where labor is very expensive, it is necessary to turn to automation as much as possible to reduce human dependence. This will increase the initial investment cost.

BASIC PARTS OF FLOUR MILL An average-scale flour mill consists of 4 basic parts in total. These are pre-cleaning, cleaning, milling and packaging parts. The key element in determining these parts is capacity. This is again determined by the market needs of the customer. Some markets use sack packages while some markets use flour called “bulk flour” that is transported with tanks.

Machines, systems, technologies, which are indispensable in flour milling design, consist of: Cleaning machines for separating wastes in wheat (the names of these machines can change from company to company: magnet, grain separator, stone separator etc.), grinding and sifting machines (such as roller mill, sieves, bran brushes), horizontal and vertical conveyor equipment and aspiration and pneumatic conveyors (such as filters and fans).

DESIGN DOES NOT AFFECT QUALITY AND EFFICIENCY The mill design does not directly affect quality and efficiency. This is because the responsible company has to give the capacity and quality that it undertakes. However, some points may lead to some quality and efficiency losses after a while. For example, if maintenance is not considered for the machine, it may cause loss of quality and efficiency after a while as the machine or machines cannot be maintained properly and timely. This is a situation that no investor wants. For the efficiency and trouble-free operation of a facility in terms of quality and efficiency, the facility must be designed to ensure ease of maintenance for machines, and suitable angle for gravity-driven product transfer.

Today, the most preferred mill design is the 5 and 6 storey buildings with at least 4 meters each floor, consisting of pre-cleaning, cleaning, milling and packaging sections.