InVivo-owned Moulins Soufflet opens new flour mill in France 

FRANCE – French milling company Moulins Soufflet recently inaugurated its new flour mill in Corbeil-Essones, France in a ceremony graced by Thierry Blandinières, CEO of Groupe InVivo, of which the Moulins Soufflet belongs. 

Moulins Soufflet officials described the newly constructed, five-story mill as featuring “the latest possible innovations in milling: automation, computerization, a state-of-the-art milling process, more ecological, more diversified flour (up to the rare T38), quality management, energy, and food safety.”

Moulins Soufflet, acquired by Invivo in 2021, already operates eight flour mills in France and one in Belgium.

According to the flour miller, the new facility includes two milling sections and a silo. It has a processing capacity of 900 tonnes of wheat per day (the equivalent of 5 million baguettes) and flour storage of more than 10,000 tonnes. 

Accordion to Moulins Soufflet, the primary supplier of milling equipment for the project is Padova, Italy-based Omas.

Moulins Soufflet invested in Omas’ Flexy Mill technology, and the fully equipped roller mill Leonardo S provided with ODS (Omas drive system) and OPS systems (Omas pressure system).

Omas’ Direct Drive (DD) involves the direct coupling of permanent magnet motors to the grinding cycles, and gives maximum flexibility of adaption of rollers’ speed and ratio, depending on the grinding step, and on the type of grain or the type of finished product desired.

This process results in the possibility of producing many types of flour. According to Omas, an adaptive Flexy Mill guarantees maximum freedom to the miller who is not bound to the traditional fixed turns of the cylinders, thus achieving the maximum possible performance.

Moreover, the DD system also increases the extraction of flour by 0.5%, compared to traditional milling plants. Additionally, this technology has been applied not only to the roller mills but to the plansifters, vibrating finishers, and bran finishers.

Moulins Soufflet’s new milling plant also includes the Plansifters Galileo S, the intensive wheat Sterilizers Giotto S and many other automation capabilities from Omas that seek to ensure a remote control without an operator.

The main equipment supplied by Omas includes six Galileo S p.g830 plansifters, eight Michelangelo mi50 purifiers, four Leonardo S 8x1250x250 roller mills, and 34 Leonardo S 4x1000x250 roller mills.

The milling plant is also equipped with Omas’ KERS – Kinematic Energy Recovery System (KERS), which has a world patent. It decreases energy costs by 30%, reducing the demand for electrical energy by roller mills and recovering the unused kinetic energy by the cylinders during grinding. 

Omas describes it as a “key technology for a high-performance but above all sustainable mill, which significantly reduces the impact in terms of CO2 emissions.”

The mill has been designed without edges and closed and sealed profiles to ensure maximum levels of hygiene and food safety, Omas said. 

Moreover, suitable materials have been used to avoid alterations and contamination of food, following MOCA regulations.

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