Unicorn Grain Specialties

Lei Ramakers, Technical Services Manager at Unicorn Grain Specialties, teaches us that you can't earn a crust on flour alone.
Since 1906, the company Unicorn - which is based in Weert - has been producing and selling raw materials and functional ingredients for animal feeds, foodstuffs, and the non-food industry. It was part of the Meneba group until July 2011, when it became an independent company once again. Since 23 April, the flag of Unicorn Grain Specialties has been flown above the buildings. While its name may have changed, the quality of the company's products, its level of service, and its focus on clients have definitely not.

The reason why Unicorn is succeeding against the odds has everything to do with the fact that it mainly produces special grain products. Ramakers tells us about a system that uses steam pressurized to 32 bar and heated to 310 ˚C to swell grains such as corn, wheat, barley, rice, and soya in order to break them down. ‘We need enormous quantities of steam for this process and even for processes that use a pressure of 10 bar. If we want the systems to run without any problems, then the drinking water in Limburg is inadequate. Instead we need RO* water, i.e. water from which all salts have been removed by a process of reverse osmosis. We use 6 m³ of water for every hour that we run our production processes.’

Technician
Since the purest water is an essential part of its production processes, Unicorn does not want to take any risks. Continuity and quality require effective, reliable systems. In 2011, when the old demineralized water system needed to be replaced, the resolute decision was made to procure a new RO system**. ‘We decided to fully outsource the supply of RO water to Evilim. That meant that Evilim made the necessary investment. Unicorn pays the standing charges and is billed for its consumption. This solution relieves us of the responsibility and any investment. In practice, it works very well. We can concentrate on our core business while Evilim focuses on the water. They created the design, took care of financing, and installed the system. They also carry out maintenance on the system. We don't need to monitor things because the system has a modem. If a problem arises, the system notifies the technician, who arrives on our doorstep before we experience any difficulties.’

Critical
If we take a look at the production times, then we can understand how importance maintenance is at Unicorn. The Weert-based factory operates 24 hours a day, five days a week. ‘We also do overtime on the weekends. In practice, that's around fifty weeks a year,’ says Ramakers with a smile. Furthermore, many services are performed just in time, which is another critical factor in the production process. Evilim carries out regular maintenance on the pumps and membranes and continuously monitors the water quality. As Ramakers explains, ‘We maintain a buffer between the system and our production processes. This means that we can continue working when maintenance is being carried out and that the best possible use is made of the system. The system yields the most dividends when it is operated at full capacity. That is now managed on the basis of the level in the storage tank.’ And so even though Ramakers knows exactly what Evilim does for him, the responsibility is still outsourced. ‘Our responsibility begins by checking the water we receive from the system. We do so on a regular basis and to date, there haven't been any problems.’ Put briefly, Ramakers is relieved of a major responsibility and so he can fully concentrate on his grain swelling systems, extruders, boilers, fine grinders, pellet mills, and heat exchangers.

Unicorn has had to make clear choices about its future. In recent years, the company has developed itself from a traditional flour factory into an innovative specialist in processing grains. Its innovative grain products require innovative production technologies and that's where WML and Evilim come into the picture.

* RO water
The production of RO water is a complex technical process. To explain it in simple language, water is pressed through a sieve that has microscopic holes in order to sieve the salts out of the water. This is done at a maximum capacity of ten cubic metres an hour.