Miller Magazine Issue: 120 December 2019

67 INTERVIEW MILLER / DECEMBER 2019 resulted in an increased demand for our products,” he says. Mr. Al Hazaa also focuses their commitment to create sustainable and eco-friendly production and points out that to become the first investment group that fully rely on solar energy in its milling facilities. Here are Mr. Khalid Sharif al-Hazaa’s answers to our ques- tions: The Al-Hazaa Group started a flour mill in Iraq in the early 1940’s and transformed into one of the most preferred sup- pliers in the region. Could you tell us how Al-Hazaa Invest- ment Group has come to its current position? Can you tell us about your corporate story? Al-Hazaa Investment Group (www.alhazaagroup.com) is one of the largest investment groups in the region that operates in the fields of grain milling, grain storage, animal feed, noodles and pasta production and in the plastic industry. Al-Hazaa Investment Group is a family group that was founded in early 1940’s, its first project was a flour mill in Iraq. The Group has ever since continuously evolved and has as a result consoli- dated its presence and reputation in the region as one of the most dynamic and successful family groups. It now operates and owns ten mills in five countries in the Middle East, Iraq, Jor- dan, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Cyprus, with a total production capacity of 4,000 MT/Day. As mentioned, Al-Hazaa Investment Group doesn’t only op- erate in the milling industry but also owns several other comple- mentary projects that either support its flour milling business or depend on the flour produced, such as plastic factories, pasta and noodles factories, other feed and grain milling and storage plants. One of those projects is the New Plastic Industrial Co. that started its operation in 2006 in Jordan, it is a plastic fac- tory that supports the group’s mills by providing them with the requested bags for packing. The factory produces 150 million bags every year, it offers plastic and woven polypropylene bags for packing flour, rice, sugar, legumes and cement. Products are sold in the Jordanian market and are exported to neighbor- ing markets as well, such as the Iraqi and Lebanese markets. The family group is now managed by its second-generation member, Mr. Jamal Al-Hazaa. The group has witnessed signifi- cant improvements when CEO Mr. Jamal took over the group’s management, the group has expanded its business and has been present in other countries outside Iraq. Al Hazaa Investment Group which is now one of the lead- ing companies in in the region is built on solid foundations in order to deliver consistent products and services that meet the highest standards of quality and innovation. Ever since the establishment of Al-Hazaa Investment Group, it focused on investing in the latest technologies and in training its person- nel. It is the main goal of Al-Hazaa Group to train its workers. Training is mostly done in cooperation with the Swiss company Bühler which is one of the leading companies in the field of flour milling and food safety. Al-Hazaa workers are trained in the Bühler’s training center in Uzwil, Switzerland and in the Swiss Milling School. Moreover, we send trainees from our companies every year to take courses in the African Milling School, which is Bühler’s milling school in Kenya, since its establishment. The countries that we operate in have a very large population and depend heavily on bread in their eating habits which result- ed in an increased demand for our products. Al-Hazaa Group operates in 5 countries. How many mills do you have all over the region and where are they locat- ed? How many people do you employ? We have started from only one mill in Iraq in the early 1940s but throughout our presence in the market for more than 70 years, we now manage 10 mills in 5 countries, Iraq, Jordan, Egypt, UAE and Cyprus. 9 of the mills are wheat flour mills while the 10th one is a maize mill. The maize mill is located in Jordan and is the only maize mill in the country, it started operation in 2018 with a production capacity of 200 ton/ day. It provides the Jordanian market and other neighboring markets with their need of fine and coarse maize grits and gluten free maize flour. We employ in our mills and factories about 2,800 workers around the five countries. STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP WITH BÜHLER Can you give us some information about your milling ca- pacity and technologies you use? The milling capacity of all 10 mills is 4,000 MT per day. In our mills we mainly rely on our Swiss partner, Bühler which pro- vides us with the latest technologies and innovative machinery required for operating our mills and to maintain best quality pos- sible. Through Bühler we train our employees and make sure to follow the latest milling trends. Al-Hazaa Group is the agent of Bühler in the Iraqi market. We have been working with Bühler for so long and we are really satisfied with this partnership. Bühler provides innovative milling solutions that ensure the safety and quality of the grain while maintaining high sustainability and efficiency. And working with Bühler has allowed us to gain even more experience in the mill- ing field, we always try new innovative Bühler machines that offer various advantages to our mills. Since we operate in several countries we have gained the necessary market know-hows that have definitely increased our experience by time. Which kind of products do you produce? What are your best-known brands?