Vysočina Agricultural Cooperative, Želiv, Czech Republic
Not far from the Zelivka River lies the "Vysočina" agricultural cooperative in Želiv. Since 2012, a grain harvesting system from Bühler has proven its worth there.
In the rural area of the Czech Republic, about 100 km southeast of Prague in Želiv, agriculture has traditionally played a central role. The sparsely populated region of the Bohemian-Moravian Highlands has a cool climate and therefore offers ideal conditions for growing grain and oil crops. Here, not far from the Zelivka River, lies the "Vysočina" agricultural cooperative in Želiv. Since 2012, a grain harvesting system from Bühler has proven its worth there. During the harvest season, trucks and tractor-trailers deliver around 60 tons of grain per hour, i.e. around 1,000 to 1,200 tons per day.
The demand for domestically produced agricultural raw materials is high in the Czech Republic, mainly among customers in the processing industry – barley for malting plants, wheat for mills. This is also true for the agricultural cooperative "Vysočina", since large-scale exports are not on the agenda. Therefore, the cooperative decided to invest in a central grain harvesting facility, despite its limited resources: "We've been looking for the right site for years, because we need a storage capacity of 7,000 tons and a hall for drying and cleaning of the grain. But we were limited both in terms of the available land and our financial resources," says Mr. Vlastimil Karafiat, manager of the "Vysočina" agricultural cooperative. The construction of industrial facilities and grain harvesting systems was made more challenging by the geographical characteristics of the low mountain range – the site is located on a hill above a river.
Prior to the start of construction in 2011, the cooperative did not have a central grain depository. Although several warehouses were available at different locations, they lacked modern conveyor technology or processing plants. This meant that consistently high quality could not be guaranteed. It was therefore a big decision for the customer – as well as a major step forward and a considerable investment – to have a new silo plant built on a green field at the site.
The focus was on reliability and economy: "Thanks to our central plant, we now need far fewer transport routes. Now we can clean, dry and store our products in the same place. This allows higher sale prices, a real added value for us," says Mr. Vlastimil Karafiat, manager of the "Vysočina" agricultural cooperative. Having decided to go ahead with the investment and finally found a suitable site, the "Vysočina" agricultural cooperative scoured the market and evaluated suitable suppliers of cleaning machines, dryers, conveyors and silo plants. In addition to simple operation, they were looking for reliable machinery that could handle the required volumes.
Our Bühler system has been running smoothly for seven years and is in very good condition. We are very satisfied with our partnership with Bühler.
Vlastimil Karafiat,,
Manager - Vysocina Zeliv
Gupfenstrasse 5
Uzwil
9240
Switzerland
