With the hope of educating milling industry executives on the underlying principles of milling process and the parameters that can be influenced by the milling system, the Kansas State University IGP Institute hosted the Buhler-KSU Executive Milling training May 20-24.
“This training is designed to benefit current mill owners, directors and managers in the milling industry,” says Jason Watt, Kansas State University Buhler Instructor of Milling.
Six participants from four states and El Salvador gained an understanding of the challenges of the operating staff, and learned which critical control points to check in order to judge whether an operation is running well.
Along with classroom discussion and instruction, executives toured the Hal Ross Flour Mill and were able to gain a hands-on experience working with mill machinery, systems, processing and handling. The course participants represented a wide range of industry jobs.
“We had individuals from backgrounds of maintenance, wheat purchasing and finance. There was a large amount of discussion throughout the course, and everyone seemed to get the most out of it,” Watt says.
Watt explains that he and Michael Albers, flour milling expert from the Buhler Training Center in Uzwil, Switzerland, saw deep interest by the participants during the hands-on milling experiences as they took the theory from the classroom and applied it in the mill.
“I understand more about what our milling teams are talking about, and everything will seem more relevant to me from a financial standpoint,” says Betsy Horton, chief financial officer of Miller Milling Company. “There’s a few things I plan to take back to our company about how we can make
more money off the mills we already have.”
This is one of several partnership trainings with Buhler, Inc. in the flour milling and grain processing curriculum. In addition, courses are also offered in the areas of grain marketing and risk management, and feed manufacturing and grain quality management. To learn more IGP Institute courses, please visit the website.
