Miller Magazine Issue: 149 May 2022

94 ARTICLE MILLER / MAY 2022 History is repeating itself. In 1985, Coop Müh- le Zürich, as it was known at the time, put two complete, new Bühler mills into operation at its location in Sihlquai, Zürich. Work has been on- going since fall 2021 to replace these "old" roll- er mills of the MDDK generation with the first generation of the new roller mills MDDY. "The seasoned roller mills will be replaced to bring product safety, hygiene and occupational safety in line with the new state of the art," explains Antoine Bolay, Production and Technology Man- ager at Swissmill. Bolay and his team are collab- orating with experts at Bühler AG to develop a detailed plan for the gradual modernization of the wheat mills A and B. The project is expected to be completed by mid-2022. RENEWAL DURING ONGOING PRODUCTION The renewal of the two wheat mills is being carried out under strenuous conditions. The space available in the mill building at Swissmill is limited, and an expansion is not possible. Not only that, but there are also no alternative facil- ities and production interruptions must thus be kept to a minimum. "This means that we have to renew the mills during ongoing production and on a step-by-step basis," says Simon Kün- zle, Technology Manager at Swissmill, about the challenging starting point. "Production, mechan- ics, electrics and automation must be in perfect harmony for this to work." Prior to the most important step for moderniz- ing the two mills - namely exchanging the roller mills - the 72 drives of both mills were upgrad- ed with energy-efficient motors and specially designed motor suspensions. The new suspen- sions make it possible to replace defective mo- tors in the shortest possible time and with a min- imum of personnel. The electrical setup, such as the power distribution and supply lines, was also completely renewed. Once again, this was only possible thanks to the hard work of every- one involved. During the last stage of the upgrade, the mill diagram was also adapted and aligned with present-day conditions. It may sound simple, but this entailed a lot of work for the Swissmill Swissmill is renewing its common wheat mills. After 36 years in operation, the tried- and-true roller mills of mills A and B are being replaced with Diorit four-roller mills from Bühler. The upgrade will be carried out during ongoing production and is scheduled to be completed by summer 2022. New era for Swissmill Daniel Mark Product Manager Milling Solutions Wheat & Rye Bühler AG