Miller Magazine Issue: 126 June 2020

18 19 NEWS NEWS MILLER / JUNE 2020 MILLER / JUNE 2020 Swiss Bühler Group and Premier Tech from Canada are now taking their strategic coopera- tion two steps further. What started with a close collaboration in August 2019, evolved into a Joint Venture in China and ultimately grew to a global partnership for bulk packaging. Strategic cooperation between Premier Tech and Bühler This new global partnership will allow Bühler to access Premier Tech’s leading technologies in bag- ging and palletizing either through the newly created PT-Bühler joint venture in China, serving the world with cost-effective packaging, or directly through Pre- mier Tech’s facilities for the high-end food feed and grain markets worldwide. “The global partnership will serve customers worl- dwide by building on Premier Tech’s recognized know- how in the field of automated packaging technologies while making full use of Bühler’s strong international sales and service network,” says André Noreau, CEO of Premier Tech’s Systems and Automation business. Premier Tech and Bühler are bringing their cooperation to new heights by offering adapted state-of-the-art packaging solutions around the globe. Bühler will continue to service its existing installed base and will also focus on sales and service through its global customer service focus and total plant-solution expertise so that customers can rely on timely, quali- fied support throughout the life cycle of the product. PT-Bühler – Joint Venture covering needs in China and markets interested in cost-effective automation After entering their strategic cooperation last year, Bühler and Premier Tech have worked closely toget- her in the interest of forming a 50/50 joint venture in China that will officially start on July 1, 2020. The aim of the joint venture is to develop and market new cost-effective packaging solutions based on Premier Tech’s bagging expertise. Operating in Wuxi, China, PT-Bühler will focus on serving the food and feed mar- kets in China, and other markets moving towards cost-effective auto- mation. “Customers will benefit from sig- nificantly more ef- ficient, and even more accurate and food safe packaging solutions thanks to automation techno- logies developed by PT-Bühler,” says Jo- hannes Wick, CEO of Bühler’s Grains & Food business. Att- racting talents from both companies, PT-Bühler will be- nefit from Bühler’s know-how of high-quality manufacturing and supply chain management in China as well as its digital soluti- ons, whereas Premier Tech contributes with its superior packaging exper- tise and techno- logical leadership in this field. Both Bühler and Premier Tech will offer the joinVt venture’s solutions in their respective mar- kets, with Bühler focusing on tur- nkey plants, and Premier Tech on standalone soluti- ons. Both partners are committed to work together in order to make for the best customer experiences whi- le fully addressing their needs and complement each other in all cases where Bühler and Premier Tech will both be involved in any specific pro- jects. AMIS: Despite sufficient supplies COVID-19 puts heavy burden on global food security Members of the AMIS Rapid Response Forum met for a consultation meeting on 28 May 2020 to dis- cuss the food security implications of COVID-19, and to prepare for more targeted actions depending on the evolution of the crisis. Particular concern was rai- sed regarding the impact of the anticipated economic shock on food and agriculture, which will drastically impede people's access to food. On the positive side, meeting participants empha- sized that the global food supply situation at present is broadly comfortable. Despite some spot areas of concern (e.g. dry conditions in the EU and Ukraine), global production of the four AMIS crops (wheat, maize, rice and soybeans) is generally expected to meet anticipated demand in 2020/21. At regional level, however, there are several de- velopments that need to be monitored closely, including the ongoing desert locust outbreak in East Africa, the Arabian Pe- ninsula and parts of South Asia that poses a serious threat to local grain production. Regarding transport and processing, members po- inted out that for many of the challenges that had appeared earlier in the pandemic, countries were able to identify innovative solutions to keep markets supp- lied. However, some sectors such as meat have been disproportionately affected, which will require parti- cular attention going forward. Outcomes of the consultation will feed back into the next meeting of G20 Agriculture Ministers, who - at their extraordinary meeting on COVID-19 in April - had called on AMIS to actively support the G20 in identifying options to help safeguard glo- bal food security. At the start of the meeting, Mr. Tassos Haniotis of the European Commission assu- med his role as AMIS Chair, taking over from Mr. Marcelo Fernandes Guimarães of Brazil. PT-Bühler will develop and market new cost-effective, semi-automatic and automatic packaging solutions based on Premier Tech’s OML series. Premier Tech's PTF series: Bühler will also market this leading technology for the high-end food and feed markets.