Bühler, the technology company from Uzwil in the canton of St.Gallen, has handed over its first plant for special cornmeal to PV Sons Corn Milling in the Indian city of Pune. The Prime Masa Nixtamal plant produces cornmeal for nixtamalized products such as tortillas and tortilla chips all the while reducing water consumption by 86 percent, further details of which can be found in a press release.
The new line, which offers an output of 4 tons per hour, has been in operation at the family company PV Sons since July 2021. The nixtamalization process ensures that the human body is able to use and absorb the vitamin niacin. In contrast to previous processes, the Bühler plant uses steam instead of water to process the cornmeal. Steaming is shorter and gentler than the traditional cooking process, meaning that it uses over 50 percent less energy. In addition, the process uses 150 liters of water instead of the previous 1,500 liters to process 1,000 kilograms of maize.
However, according to the press release, the greatest advantage of Bühler’s process is actually that “wastewater is eliminated”, while the end product features a “higher nutritional value”. Moreover, the new plant reduces CO2 emissions by 26 percent compared with the traditional nixtamalization process. Successful trials for this process had previously been conducted at Bühler’s Grain Innovation Center located in Uzwil.
“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”, comments Parag Chheda, Managing Director of PV Sons, in the press release.
“Once the commissioning was completed, we visited PV Sons in Pune and were inspired by their dedication. We could literally feel their satisfaction with the new line. We are convinced that PV Sons will establish itself well in the market and develop new and innovative products”, says Tino Böhm, Head of the Maize business segment at Bühler, in the press release.
