INDIA – PV Sons Corn Milling, a leading flour producer in India, has integrated Buhler’s Prime Masa technology into its milling line in an effort to expand its corn flour production capacity.
The Prime Masa plant is a solution for corn flour, which is used to make tortillas and nachos.
Tortillas and tortilla chips have long been appreciated and consumed in Latin and North America but are gaining popularity in other regions, including India.
PV Sons Corn Milling, a family-owned business established in 2006 and one of the market leaders in the corn processing sector decided to build inhouse capabilities to tap into growing demand for tortillas.
Traditionally, corn tortillas and tortilla chips are made from specially treated nixtamal corn flour.
To create the flour, the corn is cooked with lime and afterwards steeped for several hours before grinding.
This process uses large amounts of water, producing plenty of wastewater, consuming substantial amounts of energy, and stripping the corn of important nutrients.
For every kilo maize processed, 1.5 liters of water are consumed, with most of this water leaving the process as wastewater.
To save on costs, PV Sons partnered with Bühler to install the Prime Masa Nixtamal process which is highly efficient and produces less waste.
According to Bühler, the innovative plant will consume 84% less water, 52% less energy compared to a traditional nixtamalization process, and will produce 96% less waste, among other benefits.
Parag Chheda, Managing Director of PV Sons, said: “Prime Masa is a product of the future. We foresee huge potential for Prime Masa. And it is the next progression for us – to offer a new and relevant product to our clients.
We are extremely happy with the Prime Masa output. Its quality surpassed everything available on the local market. We knew we had a winner on hand, and we could place our bets on it.”
With the plant already up and running, Tino Böhm, Bühler’s Head of Business Segment expressed confidence that Maize PV Sons will establish itself well in the market and develop new and innovative products.
“Our greatest reward is a customer who is excited to see the performance of its plant and is happy with our work,” Böhm added.
Installation of Prime Masa plant means PV Sons will see a reduction of energy consumption and waste.
Additionally, according to the CO2 quantification method in the plant, PV Sons will reach a reduction of 26% of CO2e (CO2 equivalent), compared to the traditional nixtamalization process.
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