Miller Magazine Issue: 124 April 2020

26 NEWS MILLER / APRIL 2020 It is not so easy to find the high-quality flour needed to make traditional ‘chapati’ in Germa- ny. Either one buys imported flour from a South Asian grocer, or, one follows a small country road to Elztal in Baden-Wuerttemberg. Biemer Mühle is the name of the small traditional mill that has secured the chapati flour niche market. Success strategy for flatbread Biemer Mühle was just about to shut down due to hard competition in the German market at the beginning of the 1980’s. The die-out of bakeries made it difficult as a supplier, and it could barely keep pace with the prices offered by the larger mills. Today’s owner, Albert Biemer, recalls how his father wan- ted to close Biemer Mühle down for good. But Albert resisted. His passion for milling was just too big. The mill had been in the family for 189 years, and the location had an even longer history going back 350 ye- ars. Master miller and daughter, Ina, had worked tirelessly to ensure that the tradi- tion of the mill would continue into the seventh generation. When Albert Biemer met a guard from a nearby barracks who originally hailed from Pakistan, it was a serendipitous mo- ment. The man was used to buying flour to make his flatbread from an Asian gre- engrocer three hours away. He wanted to find a locally produced product very much and, as a test, bought some wholemeal flour from the Biemer Mühle. He was so thrilled with the quality that he told his greengrocer in distant Frankfurt about it. Albert Biemer decided to visit the merchant in Frankfurt and bring back a sample in the trunk of his car. This gave birth to the idea of dedicating himself to developing this niche product. It was Good Friday when he began remo- deling his mill. His flour was too fine and wasn't even clo- se to his sample. He returned to Frankfurt many times to have the greengrocer test his results, but the feedback was usually “getting close”. Development eventually took ten years. Albert Biemer’s perfectionism, howe- ver, was rewarded, and the chapati flour “Made in Elztal” made the rounds of both small and large Asian shopkeepers. Soon, Albert decided to expand his 5-ton mill to a 15-ton mill, but this needed correspon- ding upkeep. The family members and assistants worked in three shifts to meet demand. The price was zero free time, which is not a sustainable way to work in the long run. Investment needed to be made. Al- bert Biemer again took a sample in the trunk of his car, only this time to the Büh- ler company in Switzerland. It was very important to him to not make any compromises with the quality when increasing his efficiency. Bühler came back with an offer for a total mill moderni- zation. The small mill was equipped with a WinCos plant automation system - a tool for planning production and Isabel Maganto Marketing Communications Milling Solutions Bühler Switzerland