Miller Magazine Issue: 130 October 2020

68 TECHNOLOGY PLATFORM MILLER / OCtOber 2020 “The more we digitally link and control our individual processes, the more we can simplify standard processes. That will also reduce the number of potential sources of error. The bottom line is that all of this leads to consistent quality and yield, savings in energy consumption and, ultimately, optimized working conditions.” ‘Our future is digital’ Philipp Marquart Production Manager Grüninger Mühlen Flums, Switzerland Philipp Marquart grew up close to the headquarters of Grüninger Mühlen, in Flums, in the uplands of St. Gallen (Swit- zerland). Philipp Marquart completed his apprenticeship as a miller at the Grüninger family business before undertaking fur- ther training at the Swiss Milling School in St. Gallen, followed by attendance at the Master School in Stuttgart (Germany) where he won the “Best International Young Miller” award. In November 2017, Philipp Marquart became Production Manag- er at Grüninger Mühlen at the age of 20. In addition, he has been an expert examiner at the Swiss Milling School (SMS) in St. Gallen since 2018 and an expert examiner for the milling pro- fession, specializing in food (Swiss Certificate of Competence) since 2019. We interviewed with this inspiring young miller about the fu- ture of milling and the opportunities digitalization offers to our industry. Philipp Marquart, at 23, you are currently the youngest production manager in the Swiss milling industry. May I ask, do you have sufficient experience for the role? Yes, actually I do. I’ve been working for six years already in the milling industry and so I already have quite a bit of experience. I have gained important knowledge that I know how to use. Also, I think that in a developing industry, too much routine could be a hindrance. Especially when it comes to breaking new ground? Yes, exactly. Here, too, I follow my principle: In order to achieve the possible, the impossible must be tried again and again. I’m open to innovation and want to learn about, and try out, new technologies. It’s important that I don't have tunnel vision – I want to look out for what else is happening. What innovations and new products have you come across at the Grüninger mill? Quite a variety, depending on the area: where automation and monitoring are concerned, there’s a lot happening. Thanks to Bühler’s automation, the Grüninger mills have been running in single-shift operation for ten years already — eight hours ac-