ESPIGA I+D
Caja Rural de Navarra has played a leading role in traditional wheat flour production and oat processing for decades, but now the Spanish group senses that changing consumer needs and environmental pressures require a new perspective. Working closely with Bühler, it has created ESPIGA I+D, a cutting-edge innovation center devoted to cereal processing and its applications, incorporating among other facilities: a small industrial mill, a laboratory, and semi-industrial bakery pilot lines.
James Badcock, June 2025
Standing at the edge of rolling wheat fields on the outskirts of the city of Pamplona in northern Spain, the ESPIGA I+D – Cereal Innovation Center stands out from the countryside around it. It is here, in this pristine white box of a building, that milling group Caja Rural de Navarra is making technical advances in flour production and the manufacture of bread as well as a whole range of other products like pastries, pizzas, vegetable drinks, and breakfast cereals.
Caja Rural de Navarra has its roots firmly planted in the northern Spanish region of Navarra, from which it takes its name. The company started milling operations in 1989, and since 2022 has been part of MHM Grupo Harinero, Spain’s second-largest flour producer.
With this solid background in the industry, Caja Rural de Navarra decided that its next project would not just be another mill, but something more forward-looking. The result is the ESPIGA I+D – Cereal Innovation Center, which will operate as a test site for processing different grain varieties. The ultimate goal is to develop more sustainable processes and healthier and more sustainable products for the consumer.
“Our aim is for the ESPIGA I+D - Cereal Innovation Center to be a benchmark in Europe. There is no other integrated facility like this,” says Íñigo Royo, a longtime employee of Caja Rural de Navarra and now Technical Director at MHM Grupo Harinero.
Iñaki Hualde, Technical Director of the ESPIGA I+D - Cereal Innovation Center, beams contentedly as he shows off the new facility’s mill, the laboratory area separated from the machinery by a gleaming glass wall, and the ample bakery zone and kitchen space for trial dough preparation and breadmaking.
“The conception of the center stems from the Group’s need to diversify its product range, find ways to improve efficiency, and to engage in research and development projects on a higher level involving European partners,” says Hualde.
Our aim is for the ESPIGA I+D – Cereal Innovation Center to be a reference in Europe. There is no other integrated facility like this.
Íñigo Royo,
Technical Director at MHM Grupo Harinero
The initiative is Caja Rural de Navarra’s response to consumers’ demands for healthier products and society’s awareness of the need to develop more sustainable production processes. In terms of flour and bread products, these challenges can be met through a number of dovetailing approaches: by promoting different cereal varieties and thereby boosting biodiversity and improving food security, and by identifying crops with a lower environmental impact which also offer enhanced nutritional properties.
One of the consumer trends that the Group has identified is the growing demand for cereals and breads with higher protein and fiber content. Another is addressing the rise in Type 2 diabetes, which can be caused by a diet that is too heavy in carbohydrates. It is one of the world’s major health problems, affecting 589 million people globally, according to the International Diabetes Federation. In Spain, one in seven adults has the disease.
Given how prevalent bread is in the diets of many people worldwide, this has prompted research into making bakery products with a lower glycemic index. Sourcing alternative grains to wheat, which is the staple food Caja Rural de Navarra works with, can help to boost biodiversity in Spain’s cereal belt. Hualde hopes it will also result in pleasurable surprises and the rediscovery of forgotten tastes as different grains are turned into bakery products once again. The idea is to contribute to the selection and development of more efficient crops, helping to lower the environmental footprint of bread and flours by testing varieties of grains that need less water and fertilizer during cultivation.
The surrounding Navarra region has a long history in cereal growing. Hualde and his team will make use of Caja Rural de Navarra’s deep local roots to consult with farmers’ associations and agricultural cooperatives to source ancient varieties of wheat and oats in the search for products that can be brought back from the past.
Spelt, also known as dinkel wheat, is one such relict crop, formerly more popular, that was historically grown in northern Spain and offers attractive dietary properties with high protein, fiber, and vitamin and mineral content.
“There is growing demand for healthier and more sustainable products, and there is a clear business opportunity in responding to this. We are evaluating more sustainable varieties of grain to see how they actually perform in different transformation processes,” Hualde says.
Sustainability, which Hualde says is “built into the DNA of the innovation center,” also means moving towards a circular economy. This means that the center will explore the potential for greater use of secondary products from standard milling processes, such as oat bran.
For Hualde, it is important that the ESPIGA I+D – Cereal Innovation Center fulfills a social mission as well as a business purpose. The work carried out at the center aims to enhance public understanding of the nutritional benefits of cereals as part of a balanced diet. There is also a contribution to be made in terms of training, which will benefit the cereal sector and the local economy. Hualde says that while there is a current lack of specific training opportunities in the sector, Caja Rural de Navarra plans to work with the universities in the region and is committed to enlarging a university degree to official master in cereal processing.
“We plan to cooperate with universities and food tech centers across Spain. On a European level, we are initiating contacts with other research organizations relating to cereals,” he says. “The center will be open to any industry stakeholder – including competitors – and our laboratory’s analytical service will be officially accredited.”
There are also plans for Bühler to hold training courses at the ESPIGA I+D - Cereal Innovation Center. “We share Caja Rural de Navarra’s interest in creating added value for the cereal sector,” says Alberto Galán, sales manager for Bühler Spain.
For Royo, choosing Bühler to supply the milling equipment for the innovation center was “obvious,” given the long-standing relationship between the two companies.
For Bühler Spain, the ESPIGA I+D – Cereal Innovation Center’s project specifications posed a challenge, one the Madrid office was eager to meet. “It was a beautiful challenge, a very special case,” says Galán. “The mill had to be as small as possible but still recreate the results you get from an industrial operation. Our technicians sat down with the technical directors of Caja Rural de Navarra and came up with a design that was optimal, with inbuilt flexibility so that the machinery could be prepared for any use that the center might come up with as it tests different grains.”
Bühler has come up with a flexible and versatile installation that allows us to plan all kinds of trials and tests, and they are on hand all the time to advise us.
Iñaki Hualde,
Technical Director of the ESPIGA I+D - Cereal Innovation Center
While most industrial mills process hundreds of tonnes of grain per day, the ESPIGA I+D – Cereal Innovation Center’s requirement was for an installation with a capacity of just 24 tonnes. “We had to think hard and play with a limited space, which was an inspiring creative process,” says Galán. The task was made easier by the fact that Bühler and Caja Rural de Navarra already enjoy “almost daily communication” due to their partnership at the Group’s conventional factories.
The ESPIGA I+D – Cereal Innovation Center’s elegantly compact mill features Bühler’s TUBO tubular push conveyor, which transports the grain to the tempering zone. In the mill, Diorit roller mills with 600-millimeter roller lengths – the smallest size available – have been installed. “Diorit roller mills offer two special features,” says Galán. “The three pairs of rollers are split, allowing two passes in each. And the head passes have individual controls for each roller, making it possible to play with the revolutions.” This allows researchers maximum versatility to try out different grinds.
Bühler also provided a purifier and bran finishers of a smaller size than usual, with the whole installation managed with its Pluto process control system (PCS) – again a simpler version than would be found in a large industrial mill but one which fits with the facility’s requirements.
“Bühler is associated with big greenfield industrial projects and, yes, we do that, but we showed here we can adapt to a smaller scale and our customer’s very specific needs,” explains Galán. “We can adapt in this way thanks to our strong presence in Iberia, where we live and breathe the reality and needs of our customers, working closely alongside them. This is especially the case with Caja Rural de Navarra, a customer with whom we have a long history and have worked on everything from big new projects to small refits.”
It was a beautiful challenge, a very special case. The mill had to be as small as possible but still recreate the results you get from an industrial operation.
Alberto Galán,
Sales Manager for Bühler Spain
A good example of this can be found a few kilometers from the ESPIGA I+D – Cereal Innovation Center, in Noain, where one of MHM Grupo Harinero’s wheat processing plants is located. It processes 900 tonnes of wheat per day on three production lines of 300 tonnes each. Like Caja Rural de Navarra, it has a relationship with Bühler that goes back three decades. A recent addition to the Noain plant is Bühler’s High-Efficiency Retrofit for Mill Pneumatics, which adjusts the milling line’s energy use in real time to optimize energy resources. Royo points out that this latest acquisition is “a matter of pure efficiency” and keeps his operation “ahead of the curve.”
“It’s the kind of investment that anyone in the sector will have to make at some point, no matter what, so the way we see it, the thing to do is move early and do it well,” Royo explains, adding that energy-efficiency investments are often eligible for public subsidies.
Royo says that Caja Rural de Navarra and MHM Grupo Harinero have set high sustainability standards, with renewable energy already making up nearly 70 percent of energy use. In 2022, Caja Rural de Navarra pioneered a sustainable wheat quality brand with Spain’s AENOR, the national body for standardization and certification.
Fresh from scraping some dough from mixers for a breadmaking experiment in the ESPIGA I+D –Cereal Innovation Center’s bakery, Hualde says he is convinced that Bühler was the ideal choice of partner for this research and development venture.
“We have an excellent relationship with Bühler in mills across the Group,” he says. “They have come up with a flexible and versatile installation that allows us to plan all kinds of trials and tests, and they are always available to provide advice. They also offer comprehensive technical support and ongoing assistance in the use of the pilot mill.”
Who: ESPIGA I+D
Where: Sarriguren, Spain
When: Roots dating back to 1871.
What: ESPIGA I+D is a cereal innovation center including a small industrial mill, laboratory, and semi-industrial bakery pilot lines.
Customers: ESPIGA I+D serves customers both in Spain and internationally.
Bühler: ESPIGA I+D is equipped with Bühler’s TUBO tubular push conveyor, Diorit roller mill, Plansifter MPAS, Purifier MQRF, and Pluto PCS. It benefits from Bühler design engineering.
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