S ’ A Y N KOLING CULTURE F

MIL

I

THE ALAYBEYI FLOUR MILL

n the centre of Konya, along the Ankara road, there are many flour mills: Plain, Hekimoğlu, Aynınalp, Agile, Great Hekimoğlu, Meram, standalone, Yeni, AVS, Alba and Alaybeyi. Alaybeyi Flour Mill is owned and managed by Mr Fatih Alaybeyi, who is directly related to Dr. Omer Lufti Alaybeyi of Molino milling machinery manufacturers, also based in Konya. This close network assists him and his company in achieving its aims, and as a result it has become a flour-mill with a very high reputation. Alaybeyi Flour Mills are a familyrun milling firm. They take part at the Turkish bakery exhibition, Ibatech. They have produced a product catalogue called ‘White Love’ after the white flour they are well-known for. On Monday 4th April 2016, Professor Dr Hikmet Boyacioglu and I had the pleasure of meeting Fatih at his office in Konya for a tour of his flour-mill and bakery. Mr. Alaybeyi has been a board member of Alaybeyi Flour Mills since 1995, and holds a degree in Mechanical Engineering as well as an MBA qualification. He told us how he is still developing the company to meet with today’s contemporary demands, and we also heard of Fatih’s new role at the Konya Borsa, which he explained will change a lot for the trading of grain and will have a significant impact on the industry in Turkey.

A brief background about this particular flour-mill

This flour mill was constructed and opened in 1989 and is a mill specialising in high quality fine grade flours and baked goods for many different foods. These include; Turkish soft bread loafs, hamburger breads, rye bread mixes, pitta breads and delicacies such as baklava, different pastries, pasta, cakes, cookies, muffins. They target the luxury high-end market flour miller, with a real emphasis on quality and niche value added for speciality foods. They also mill flour for Italian ciabatta bread, French baguettes. It is a milling brand with a clear niche in this competitive market. On our tour the bakery was the first place we visited. This was starting at the end of the value chain for Alaybeyi but it was great to see the flour from the mill itself and other ingredients create high quality baked goods for the local market. Underground, a team of four uniformed staff managed the 48 | July 2016 - Milling and Grain

by Tom Blacker

bakery. In the bakery itself, there were Fimak electrical deck ovens and other machinery too for baking the loaves of bread. High standards of hygiene, signage, uniform, as well as an organised layout, were evident throughout the bakery. In the same building as the bakery stood the laboratory. Technical laboratory equipment stood on top of marble stone worktops. Alaybeyi’s importance for research and development in their products is a vital part of their operations. Again in the laboratory, standards were impressive. The testing and application of different wheats, flours and doughs was rigorous and comparable to any other flour-mill.