City Group opens ‘world’s largest’ flour mill in Bangladesh
The factory has eight milling lines, each having 625 tonnes daily production capacity
To consolidate its position in the market, City Group, already the top flour manufacturer in the country, has claim to launch world’s largest flour mill in Narayanganj with 6,150 tonnes daily production capacity under one roof, to consolidate its position in the market.
After being formally handed over by the Swiss multinational plant equipment manufacturer, Buhler AG, the Ruposhi Bangla Flour Mill, a state-of-the-art and fully automated factory, commenced full operation on Tuesday.
With eight milling lines, each with a 625 tonne daily production capacity, the project was executed 24 months after City Group signed a contract with Buhler in December 2019.
City Group’s executive director Biswajit Saha said, “As far as we are concerned, this flower mill built on a 23-acre plot of land is the largest of its kind in the world. More than Tk3,000 crore has already been invested in this factory so far, excluding the cost of land development. Over 1,500 people have been employed.”
He noted that the renowned Swiss company Buhler has provided all the machinery and essential technologies, and the entire manufacturing process is entirely automated.
The food park has 39 silos with a storage capacity of 305,000 tonnes. Daily shipments of materials like wheat, soy, corn, and lentils are unloaded and utilized for trading or processing in their own plants.
City Group has additionally revealed how the mill will produce healthy products consistently by upholding quality.
Initially, the wheat, which is the raw material, is transported from the factory silo to the magnetic separation machine, where any iron content present is separated from the wheat. Subsequently, the raw material proceeds to the touch machine, where it undergoes the first stage of cleaning. The wheat is then directed to the Vega separator machine through bins. This machine performs the function of a sieve, separating grains that are larger or smaller than wheat. The entire process takes place in four stages.
Afterwards, the stones are removed by the de-stoner machine, while the aspirator machine separates thinner grains from the wheat by recycling air. The scorer is responsible for cleaning the dirt off the wheat skin. Following this, the wheat undergoes color sorting, which involves the use of 30 cameras to detect and sort out additional ingredients such as maize, soybeans, and sorghum. The MYFD machine regulates humidity, and then the wheat is stored in a bin for 24 hours prior to being processed into the final product.
Biswajit Saha reported the presence of a cutting-edge NIR machine that automatically displays information on the nutritional content of wheat. Additionally, an automatic cleaning system is in place to maintain the factory floor by promptly removing any debris.
As a leading conglomerate in the consumer goods manufacturing industry, City Group caters to a significant portion of the country’s domestic demand for flour, including atta, moyda, and sooji. With 40 sister concerns, the group has provided employment to over 25,000 individuals. The company was founded in 1971 and initially focused on processing mustard seeds for oil production. However, City Group has since expanded its operations, particularly in the food and feed sectors.
Situated 30 kilometres outside the capital city, the company’s vast production plant is responsible for the manufacturing of a variety of products, including mustard oil, sunflower oil, soybean oil, flour, lentils, and rice. Flour production, marketed under the TEER brand, is supplied to local consumers, bakeries, and restaurants.
The government department responsible for the flour industry lacks precise data on its national market size. However, USAID reports that the demand for wheat used in flour mills throughout the country in 2021 was 64 lakh tonnes.
City Group is among the prominent players in the flour industry, followed by Meghna, Bashundhara, TK, Akij, S Alam, and Senakalyan Sangstha, along with several other large industrial groups. Industry insiders also claim the presence of over 200 small and large flour factories throughout the country.
