Milling News
- 13 entries confirmed for Innovations Awards! by Rebecca Sherratt The GRAPAS Innovations Awards are proving to be especially popular this month, with a total of ten entries having been received in March alone! Our currently confirmed entries are as follows: • Bühler- OLCC Cracking Mill • Dinnissen- Pegasus Wingdoor Mixer • Bühler- NOVABLUE sieve cleaner • Bruks Siwertell- The Belt Conveyor • Bühler- PreMa- Intelligent Plant Monitoring • Brabender- FarinoAdd-S300 • Bühler- Roller Mill Diorit MDDY and MDDZ • Balaguer Rolls- Optical Fluting Test 2.0 • Bühler- LumoVision • Bühler- GrainiGo • Selis- Dynamic Angling Position System • Bühler- MoisturePro • Bühler- Particle Size Measurement Plus others, which we will keep under wraps for now! The GRAPAS Innovations Awards application deadline has now been reached, and the next step is for our award applicants to prepare their presentations to be given at the GRAPAS Conference at VICTAM International. Our international panel of judges will judge each applicant accordingly, and the winner(s) will then be announced, a people’s choice vote may also take place, in which the GRAPAS Conference audience get the change to choose their favourite innovation to receive their own award.
A day of technological innovation
The GRAPAS Innovations Awards are an annual event, held at VICTAM International during the GRAPAS Conference on June 13th. The conference will feature talks from each applicant into the innovation awards, as well as a variety of international speakers giving talks on the evolution of the food processing industry over the years. Confirmed speakers this year so far include Marie Haga, Executive Director of the Crop Trust and George Marriage, President of the National Association of British and Irish Millers (nabim). The GRAPAS Conference always proves to be a successful day of thrilling talks about the food industry, and is primarily aimed at CEOs, mill managers and nutritionists. Sponsorship packages for the conference are also available upon enquiry. You can register to attend the conference on the Victam International website - or alternatively you can email me at rebeccas@perendale.co.uk Tickets to attend cost 99€ and attendees can register through the VICTAM International official website. 36 | April 2019 - Milling and Grain
AFIA, Feedstuffs name Famo Feeds as 2018 Feed Facility of the Year
T
he American Feed Industry Association (AFIA) and Feedstuffs congratulate Famo Feeds of Freeport, US, for being named the 2018 Feed Facility of the Year (FFY). Gary Huddleston, AFIA’s Director of Feed Manufacturing and Regulatory Affairs, announced that the family-owned feed company won the award during AFIA’s Feed Production Education Program, held at the International Production & Processing Expo in Atlanta. “Famo Feeds was selected as our winner because they do a fantastic job of serving the needs of their customers, while investing in a new plant and continuing to spend money on improvements,” said Mr Huddleston. “Famo Feeds is a familyowned business, the first ever to win this award, and I think that shows in how they treat their customers.” The FFY award recognises overall excellence in feed manufacturing operations, from the company’s commitment to safety, quality and regulatory compliance to employee development to overall operating efficiencies. To date, only 33 facilities have received this esteemed industry award. Famo Feeds is an animal nutrition business that manufactures and markets a full-line of livestock and poultry feeds. Serving a customer base in the Upper Midwest US, the company is focused on the dairy and beef sectors but also offers feed products for horses, gamebirds, chicks, rabbits and more. For a smaller facility, Famo Feeds does an excellent job of complying with regulations in the feed industry, especially the Food Safety Modernisation Act. The company maintains a strong food safety plan and is constantly monitoring its operations to ensure quality standards are met. The facility maintains certifications in hazard analysis and critical control points, Facility Certified Institute-Restricted Use Protein Products and Safe Feed/ Safe Food. In the last few years, the company has made a number of improvements and upgrades to the plant, including adding a new automation system, rebuilding a pellet mill and mixer and upgrading a boiler. The new Repete FLX automation system has allowed Famo Feeds to increase its production efficiency while at the same time improving its working environment. AFIA has conducted the FFY program since 1985, and is recognised as a first-class benchmarking program for the animal food industry, awarding top-performing facilities in four categories: commercial dry livestock, integrator, liquid feed and premix. From those, the FFY award is selected.