April 01, 2016

01/04/2016: GRAPAS Award 2016: Industry innovators receive recognition

by Andrew Wilkinson

This year’s presentation of the prestigious GRAPAS Award for innovation in the cereal milling industry took place in Bangkok, Thailand. Held on March 29th and in conjunction with FIAAP and Victam, the 2016 GRAPAS International Conference was once again organised by Perendale Publishers Limited.


This year’s judgement panel, headed by Bryan McGee, were set the unenviable task of choosing this year’s GRAPAS Award winner from an interesting selection of products and processes.

The panel based their assessments on the criteria identified in the entry categories for equipment used in relation to the storage, handling and milling of cereal grains. However, the criteria given particular significance this year were novelty, practical value and benefits to the user in terms of efficiency, safety and cost effectiveness.

And the winner is…
After careful consideration, the judgement panel decided that this year’s GRAPAS award winner was Denmark-based company Eye-Grain Aps for their iGrain and crop-protector. Crop-Protector by Eye-Grain Aps specialises in developing and manufacturing technology for the post-harvest sector. The company boasts a vast range of products that can monitor stored grain and perform aeration control in order to maintain and enhance the quality of stored commodities.
      
http://www.victam.com/?i=190

The award winning entry from the Danes proposed the use of a process called 'ozonation' -  applying ozone (O3) - for the “control of insect infestation and unwanted biological activity in stored cereals and other grains.” Infestation is one of the major causes of the degradation or even total loss of grain in storage.

The judges decided that the fact that ozone is highly oxidative and unstable, decomposing rapidly to oxygen without leaving residues is a “highly attractive characteristic,” adding that, “If the process proves to be practical in common use then it will constitute an innovative and valuable advance in protecting food grains.”

The runner up

This year’s winner of the Runner-up GRAPAS Award was Agentis Innovations for their M007 Real-Time In-Line Feed Reformulation. Agentis Innovations are a Cypriot company who specialise in “process optimisation.”  By working alongside industrial and commercial businesses, they help to reduce operating costs, improve operating processes and capture the data necessary for “today’s advanced reporting requirements and real time information.”
     
http://www.victam.com/?i=190

The Cyprus based company won their award with a system that is specifically designed to “optimise the proportions of materials in a feed, taking into account the variations of moisture content in the raw materials.”

The panel decided that, owing to the fact that variation in moisture levels in raw materials used in the feed milling industry normally “adversely affects the ability to optimise the least-cost formulation of feeds,” Agentis Innovations' system’s “unique ability to compensate for these variations with its real-time and in-line measurement capability,” set it apart from the other entries.

Watch out for our May edition of Milling and Grain for our full report on all of the events that unfolded in Bangkok.

Visit the FIAAP/Victam/GRAPAS site HERE.
 

The Global Miller
This blog is maintained by The Global Miller staff and is supported by the magazine GFMT
which is published by Perendale Publishers Limited.


For additional daily news from milling around the world: global-milling.com

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