Atta flour mill in Canada
Even in the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, Bühler’s customers needed to keep up production and deliver foods to billions of consumers all over the world. Our customer Brar Natural Flour Mills in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, was no exception. When it seemed that the installation of their second Atta flour mill was threatened to come to an abrupt halt due to travel restrictions, they experienced the true meaning of our mission “engineering customer success”.
Lukas Hofstetter, June 1, 2021
Everybody who has lived away from their country of birth knows how important is to have a connection to our home, sensorial experiences that take us back to that happy place we all miss sometimes. That is why people who find themselves far from home for whatever reason seek comfort in familiar flavors – one of the main reasons why Brar started producing Atta flour in Canada. In 2014, Brar Natural Flour Milling purchased their first Atta flour mill using Bühler’s Pesa mill technology and started producing and distributing their Sher Atta family of products.
Lahora Brar, Owner and President of Brar, has an impressive success story. “The popularity and sales of Sher Atta started growing, and we were no longer able to keep up with demand. To maintain consistent high quality, we consolidated our Atta production in one plant instead of two and decided to increase the capacity of our plant in Winnipeg with the addition of a completely new building for a second Atta mill.”
Although the equipment for the mill was delivered on time in June 2020, the Covid-19 pandemic also caused considerable delays with the new building, which meant installation work only started at the beginning of November 2020.
The next step posed a real challenge because of strict travel restrictions, and no local installation crew was available. Ian Steele, General Manager at Bühler Canada, knew that the customer needed to get the second mill started as soon as possible: “We immediately got to the task of finding a suitable installation engineer with the right experience, and who was willing and able to travel to Canada. Under the existing circumstances, that was not an easy task.” The team immediately activated Bühler’s global network and searched feverishly in all four corners of the globe for an installation engineer.
The teamwork was exceptional and allowed us to finish the mechanical installation by December 18, 2020.
Antonio Acosta,
Site Manager Installation, Bühler Madrid
Eventually, Antonio Acosta, from Bühler Madrid, was assigned to the task. “When my phone rang and I realized the dire situation our customer was in, I didn’t hesitate one second. After consulting with my wife, I let the project team know that I would be glad to help and started packing my things,” says Acosta.
However, special permission was required to get into the country. The team in Canada contacted the relevant governmental authorities together with the customer to obtain permission for Antonio to be allowed into Canada. “It really was touch-and-go, and all I could do at the time is wait in Madrid with my suitcase packed, ready to say goodbye to my family for as long as this assignment would take – this certainly wasn’t an easy time given the circumstances,” Antonio recalls.
Once the mission was given the green light by the Canadian government, Antonio wasted no time and was on the customers’ site 5 days later. Here, the Brar family welcomed him with open arms and did everything in their power to facilitate his work. “The teamwork was exceptional and allowed us to finish the mechanical installation by December 18, 2020,” says Antonio.
Shortly afterwards, Bühler’s local commissioning engineers Jakub Cepela and Dimitri Stuetzberger traveled to Manitoba during a full lockdown under the Canadian government’s “essential worker act”. The commissioning of the new mill and software consolidation for both mills was performed seamlessly under strict Covid-19 guidelines. “It was a challenging project given the circumstances, but everyone stepped up their game to help our customer start production with their second Atta flour mill as soon as possible,” summarizes Jakub.
Today, both Atta mills are running at a total capacity of 200 tons/day, continuing to provide something invaluable for countless consumers in times of travel restrictions and lockdown measures: a taste of home. The Brar family will never forget the kind of support provided in probably the most exceptional circumstances our generation has ever faced.
Lahora Singh Brar, the founder of Sher Atta, gave the best feedback the team could have wished for: “Bühler was there every step of the way helping with the set up and start-up of our new plant. From planning to production, they were there to guide us through. And even with all the Covid-19 restrictions in place, they made it possible to get their guys here to start the process and helped us keep up with the demand of our product.”
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