GUANGDONG BAIYAN
The smart way to create exceptional flour
Baiyan in Guangdong province in China is a lighthouse example of Bühler’s SmartMill concept. It successfully went into operation in May 2025. By integrating technology empowerment with data-driven operations, the facility has achieved improvements in both production efficiency and product quality, establishing itself as a benchmark for intelligent transformation and digitalization in the specialty flour industry.
Tony Sun, September 2026
By the Xijiang Channel of the Pearl River, at the Guangzhou-Foshan border, a cluster of silos stands prominently on the bankside. Nestled amidst greenery, a high-rise industrial complex faces the waterways, flanked by three ship-unloading docks. The complex is located in a region rich in culinary tradition, widely considered to be the birthplace of Cantonese cuisine. It is also the home of Guangdong è – a factory that has borne witness to the dramatic evolution of flour manufacturing, from more traditional milling to modern industrialization and now intelligent production.
Established in 1952, Baiyan has grown into one of China's leading specialty flour milling companies. In 1993, the company introduced Swiss Bühler processing technology and commissioned two milling lines, each with a daily capacity of 300 tonnes. In 2021, driven by the surging demand for high-end specialty flours such as low-ash bread flour, it decided to double its milling capacity by adding a third and fourth milling lines to its plant. The company now has a combined daily milling capacity of 1,200 tonnes, or 300,000 tonnes a year.
Alongside the increase in capacity, an important focus for the project was quality. Baiyan wanted to leverage smart manufacturing to optimize its product portfolio and lead the high-end flour market. “Our aspiration is to become a global benchmark for baking quality,” says Liang Haifeng, Baiyan’s General Manager.
To achieve this, Baiyan turned to Bühler, its longtime partner.
With the new system we can meet consumers’ demands for higher quality, offering products that are healthier, more diverse, and tailored to their needs.
Liang Haifeng,
General Manager at Baiyan
Meeting the competition
The relationship with Bühler began in 1991. At that time, local flour milling was highly competitive, offering homogeneous products. “Back then, we were surrounded by flour mills. Business seemed bustling, but competition was fierce,” says Zhou Zhiwei, Director and Deputy General Manager at Baiyan. “Every day, we watched rivals poach our customers. We wondered how to break through.”
Faced with these challenges, Baiyan’s shareholders started looking for new opportunities. The breakthrough came at an international technology exchange where Baiyan met representatives from Bühler. They decided to invest in the Swiss technology and import a complete production line, becoming China’s first flour mill to use an eight-roller mill. “There were debates about how to use the money – profit-sharing or investing – but finally, a company-wide vote decided to invest in the new production line,” says Mr. Zhou Zhiwei.
Bühler's Mercury MES provides operators with performance transparency. Integrating lab work in Mercury helps tackle a large diversity of products.
In 1993, Baiyan’s first production line with Bühler equipment began operating, boosting daily capacity to 200 tonnes per day and making Baiyan bread flour the gold-standard benchmark in the Pearl River Delta’s baking industry. A massive flood in 1994 halted production, but staff worked tirelessly to protect the silos and, thanks to their efforts, Baiyan did not miss a single a flour delivery. Bühler’s equipment enabled quick recovery, and this solidified Baiyan’s commitment to pursuing high-end, intelligent development.
In 2021, the company collaborated with Bühler once again to implement the latest SmartMill solutions.
A smart move
The Bühler SmartMill concept is designed to unlock a plant’s true potential, improving product quality and traceability, while at the same time reducing energy consumption and environmental footprint. It combines automation equipment, intelligent control systems, and online sensing technology, complemented by digital services, to provide powerful support for operators and managers.
Baiyan invested in Bühler's most advanced equipment including the integrated grinding system Arrius, plansifters, a bran finisher, four cutting-edge inspection systems that monitor protein, particle size, whiteness, and quality, and a fully automatic bagging station. They also chose the NIR Multi Online Analyzer, a particle size measurement unit , and an online color and specks measurement unit. All of this is overseen by the Mercury MES system, Bühler’s Manufacturing Execution System which integrates all processes to increase efficiency and traceability, collecting and analyzing data from over 15,000 sensors. Together, these enable protein loop control, break release loop control, and ash loop control functions.
“Our Phase II facility processes 600 tonnes of wheat daily, achieves 150,000 tonnes annual output, and operates with 24/7 remote monitoring,” says Mr. Liang Haifeng. Following commissioning of the new line, Baiyan achieved breakthroughs in both cost reduction and efficiency enhancement. Labor costs decreased by 50 percent and annual electricity cost savings were significant. At a time when energy is one of the most volatile costs for many businesses, this was an important achievement.
Quality above all
All of this is impressive, but it is the improvement in flour quality that Baiyan is most proud of. Since it entered the milling business, Baiyan has successfully launched more than 60 varieties of high-grade specialty flours such as Baiyan brand bread flour, cake flour, and pastry flour, which it supplies to households, restaurants, bakery chains, and large food processing plants.
To ensure the product quality remains high, Baiyan starts with high quality wheat, which it buys mostly from Canada, the United States, and Australia. However, even with high quality raw material, there is still variability, with changes in wheat varieties, weather, farming practices, and storage conditions. These variations must be countered through wheat blending, precision grinding and sifting, and flour blending. This is where SmartMill is game-changing.
With online NIR detection technology, Baiyan can analyze changes in wheat quality in real time, dynamically optimize wheat blending, and adjust equipment parameters. With the AI visual inspection system, the accuracy of wheat impurity detection reaches 99.99 percent and ensures every bag of Baiyan flour meets premium standards.
The journey to the self-optimizing plant
Bühler's SmartMill solution adds value to both quality and efficiency while reducing manual intervention. More than that, the solution “thinks” for itself. The operator simply sets product characteristics, and the mill continually learns from all variables to self-optimize its production parameters.
This autonomy is reached gradually, not overnight. Just as the auto industry progressed from manual steering to full autonomy through clear, incremental steps, the SmartMill journey follows a similar path: connect the plant, learn from the data, assist people with actionable insights, and then close the loop so the system can adjust parameters continuously within safe guardrails. With continuous AI-driven optimization throughout the whole process, production becomes more intelligent and efficient.
“Every sensor and data point in this facility reflects the DNA of intelligent manufacturing,” says Marcel Scherrer, Head of Business Unit Wheat & Rye at Bühler. “We are working closely with Baiyan to advance smart manufacturing in the flour industry.”
Maintenance is made easier as the machines provide all the necessary information, which is displayed at a glance.
Redefining industry standards
As Baiyan moves forward, it relies on the fact that both the partnership with Bühler and the technology it delivers are strong and durable. “The Bühler equipment we invested in back in 1993 is still running reliably today,” says Mr. Zhou Zhiwei. “It truly lives up to the saying, ‘unchanging reliability across decades.’ And Bühler supports us throughout the entire lifecycle, always ready to tailor solutions to our needs.”
With the new facilities already operational, both Baiyan and Bühler are determined to set the trend in premium flour production. “Our partnership with Baiyan is more than business – it’s a shared mission to create exceptional flour,” says Jacky Zhang, Vice President of Grains Business, Bühler Greater China. “The SmartMill demonstrates the perfect integration of Swiss innovation and Bühler’s localized R&D, setting new standards for the industry.”
Baiyan’s investment in intelligent manufacturing ensures that tradition is supported by innovation. The result is flour that combines consistency, quality, and traceability, helping bakers and food manufacturers deliver outstanding products that are enjoyed by consumers every day.
Bühler supports us throughout the entire life cycle, always ready to tailor solutions to our needs.
Mr. Zhou Zhiwei,
Director and Deputy General Manager at Baiyan
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