VASTERAS, SWEDEN — Alapala is building a new flour mill for Abdon Invest AB in Vasteras, Sweden, which is its first in the region.

Abdon Food is one of the leading cereal companies in the Nordic region. The company is building a new mill to strengthen its locally produced product offerings and improve its environmental impact through reduced transportation.

The greenfield mill will have a wheat flour capacity of 275 tpd and a rye flour capacity of 25 tpd. Using locally supplied raw materials, the mill will produce the flour for domestic consumption.

The mill’s steel construction, as well as special internal square bins will be provided by Alapala Construction, an Alapala Group company that specializes in the design, supply, and construction of industrial buildings worldwide. All equipment will be provided in compliance with European norms and the ATEX directive for explosion protection.

Alapala is well-known for its automation systems that enable the entire process to be centrally monitored, using Scada software and remote connection. These systems offer integrated process control and traceability advantages, along with advanced report generation for data such as production, yield, efficiency, etc. With the remote connection feature, the mill can be accessed 24/7 by the Alapala after-sales team for technical assistance including inspection, error diagnosis, calibration, and troubleshooting.

This year’s World Flour Day is planned for March 20 and will be celebrated under the motto “Flour and People-Flour means the world to us.” The focus for this third World Flour Day is the significance of flour for each person. 

World Flour Day was initiated by the FlourWorld Museum to honor flour as one of the most important staple foods. The FlourWorld Museum in Wittenburg near Hamburg, Germany, holds the world’s largest collection of flour sacks, with more than 3,700 sacks from 140 countries. Flour.Power.Life is the guiding principle under which the sacks tell about the traditions, history and myths of flour.

As part of World Flour Day, the museum will unveil the Flour Sack of the Year, celebrating a flour sack design that best illustrates this year’s motto. Winners are displayed in the museum, an initiative of Mühlenchemie, a member of the Stern-Wywiol Gruppe.

In honor of World Flour Day, here are six previous Flour Sack of the Year honorees.

KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI, US — The Grain Elevator and Processing Society’s GEAPS Exchange 2022 got underway March 26 at the Kansas City Convention Center in Kansas City, Missouri, US, with the first full day on the expo floor March 27.

The March 26-29 event features 45 hours of educational programming, special events and an expo with the latest grain handling and processing solutions.

With manufacturers, suppliers and customers from across the globe filling the convention center and making connections, here a few photos from the expo’s first day.