GENERAL TOSHEVO, BULGARIA — Greece-based Loulis Group recently upgraded its flour mill in northeast Bulgaria.

The mill has a semi-hard wheat processing capacity of 130 tonnes per day and 9,000 tonnes of wheat storage. Located on 21,000 square meters, the mill was established as a turnkey project by Alapala in 2015. The mill has been upgraded in 2019 by Henry Simon to satisfy the increasing flour demand from the region.

Being one of the oldest milling groups in Greece, Loulis started the business in the 17th century with a water-driven stone mill at Aetorahi, Ioannina.

Today the group is one of the leading milling companies in Greece, and currently active in Greece and Bulgaria with four manufacturing plants. The total milling capacity of the group is around 1,400 tonnes per day.

Loulis Group noted that the mill has gone through significant changes with the state-of-the-art engineering and renovation work. The capacity of the mill is increased from 100 tpd to 130 tpd with new process design and modern milling machines.

The renovation included replacing the old equipment with six Henry Simon direct pick-up roller mills (HSRM) and two plan sifters (HSQP), with Advanced Sensor Technology.

The mill has bins that can hold up to 430 tonnes of flour, 100 tonnes of bran, and has a final product warehouse with a capacity of more than 750 tonnes. Product handling is carried out with pneumatic and mechanic transportation equipment, which conforms with E.U. operational safety standards and protection rules.

The mill’s operation is controlled with an advanced automation system, including Scada software, which allows a centralized monitoring of the entire milling process and generating detailed reports on production data (input, extraction, production output, etc.).

The mill also has an ultra-modern chemistry laboratory, including an experimental bakery to carry out advanced flour tests and ensure the highest level in product quality and standardization for its customers.