On the way to becoming a technology leader

Milling and technology start-up SWISCA AG wins the best-of-show award at the IAOM international milling trade fair in the USA. With a world first, the industry newcomer from Appenzell succeeds in convincing the expert jury at the 125th anniversary conference.

Three years after the foundation of SWISCA AG, the Appenzell-based start-up has already won an important international industry award. The jury of experts in Little Rock was particularly impressed by the unique "Dampe" dampening system from the Swisca engineers. This uses nozzles to spray grain with water mist at the beginning of the process in the mill. This enables higher efficiency in flour extraction later on. At the same time, the innovation scores with a high level of energy efficiency and high food safety on a level that is unrivaled on the market.

"The award is a great honor and motivation for the entire team. We have succeeded in doing what we set out to do when we founded the company, which is to be a start-up pioneer in terms of innovation and bring new ideas to a traditional industry and make them happen ", says Heinz Brand, founder and board member of SWISCA AG. Nevertheless, he says, this prestigious award at the most important milling conference is not something that can be taken for granted: "We are very aware of that. We were competing against other great ideas. It's all the more satisfying that at the end of the 125th anniversary conference, the expert jury singled out our work as the best."

Uniform grinding and high yields

An important production process in a flour mill is moistening to ensure uniform grinding and high yield. The grain is thus prepared for an optimum milling condition. By adding water to the grain and tempering it in the silos, the bran layers become tough and elastic and the endosperm inside the grain is softened. This is the optimal condition for separating the hull and the endosperm as efficiently as possible during milling. With SWISCA's invention, moisture and density can be precisely measured during weighing and the addition of water can be accurately calculated. A completely new process with minimal energy requirements applies the moisture to the surface of the grains with a water mist. The machine, which was developed together with St.Gallen-based Trinox Engineering AG, is also automatically cleaned using clean-in-place technology for optimum food safety. "Our process results in energy savings of over 90 percent," Brand explains. "The products represented on the market to date operate with very energy-intensive and food-unsafe machine solutions. In the process, heavily motorized rotors mix water and grain in a very unhygienic way."

Swiss innovation is in demand

The machines manufactured in Appenzell are exported to over 40 countries. The main markets are Europe and North America. In other words, markets where a little more funding is usually available. But exports are also made to Sudan, Nigeria, Bangladesh and Indonesia, for example. "Pricing real innovations is still a very complex task in price management. The higher the degree of innovation and thus the market opportunities, the greater the challenge of hitting the optimal price point," says Heinz Brand. "SWISCA is convinced that "Swiss Made" is worth more than just the price. The label also stands for quality, precision, credibility and safety," he says. "Cheap is not sustainable for us," Brand explains. "Even if the export of the machine industry is once again suffering from a very strong Swiss franc. With entrepreneurial foresight, we want to consciously focus on innovations and Swiss engineering services. The conditions are excellent in Switzerland; we are one of the most innovative countries in the world. Qualified engineers and rapid and efficient use of Switzerland's high innovation potential are prerequisites for successful continuation." With the relocation of technologies and products, high profits could be generated quickly thanks to low labor costs. However, Heinz Brand is convinced that this also permanently destroys a company's ability to innovate.

Strengthening international networks

The SWISCA team is currently working on further inventions that are to be established on the market. "The necessary patent applications are costly and time-consuming, but important for SWISCA in order to protect technical inventions against imitation. One thing can be revealed, however: We are confident that the award at the IAOM will not be our last," says Brand. For this reason, the company will also continue to develop its portfolio of energy-efficient and food-safe products. With SWISCA's entrepreneurial expertise, strategic competence and industry network, as well as the financial strength of the investors, the sales and service networks will be strengthened internationally. "We want to push the aftermarket business and develop new machine solutions for additional applications, thus sustainably diversifying the product portfolio. Our vision: in five years, SWISCA will be a Swiss technology company that is a global technology leader in the industry thanks to its innovative employees and qualitative growth."

The IOAM (International Association of Operative Millers)

IAOM Annual Conference is the premier event for the grain milling industry. The conference brings together milling and related professionals from around the world. It is also the world's largest machinery exhibition for milling professionals with over 140 companies in the milling industry.