"No Other Solution" - Laidig Partners with Milling Company in Mexico
Project Spotlight
Company growth for many businesses is not only a goal, but a top priority. But how do you grow when you are wading in the uncharted waters of a worldwide pandemic? For Harinas Elizondo, a flour milling operation based out of Mexico City, Mexico, the answer was in a partnership with Laidig.
When the team at Harinas Elizondo saw a huge surge in demand for their products, they knew they would have to find a solution to expand — and fast. They bought an old flour mill, but knew they would have to make significant equipment upgrades to keep the flour and bran moving efficiently. Because of a partnership at another Harinas Elizondo facility around 10 years ago, company leadership already knew where to turn: Laidig.
“Without the Laidig equipment, I don’t think we would be able to hold that much bran,” said Manuel Iriso Alvarez, the company’s Operations Manager.
As the Operations Manager, Iriso oversees production, maintenance, and quality control for the company; he knows how tricky it is to handle, store, and control bran. In 2011, when Harinas Elizondo first partnered with Laidig to find a material solution, Iriso was impressed with Laidig’s responsiveness and project organization. This led directly to Harinas Elizondo choosing to renew their partnership with Laidig on their next problem-solving journey.
For bran, there is a tendency for the material to become hard-packed when stored at large volumes in vertical silos. This is the exact problem Harinas Elizondo needed to avoid, as it worked to expand its storage capacity. All Laidig reclaim systems are tailor-engineered to the customer’s specific material requirements. This makes each system custom-built to a specific automated material application. Putting in the call for another three Cone-Bottom silos and reclaimers was a no-brainer for this customer.
“We have never had problems with the Laidig silos. It’s always been quite easy to use them,” Iriso said. “We’ve never had clogs or anything that makes it impossible to get product out of the silos.”
Harinas Elizondo knew that Laidig reclaimers worked well, but the real uncharted territory ended up being the innovative installation of the equipment. Typical installations allow for Laidig Service professionals to install and commission new systems. But because of the arrival of the COVID-19 Pandemic, the World went into lockdown. Unexpected times called for unexpected measures, with both parties adapting to the new normal to get the job done—in under six months. Laidig utilized videoconferencing to coach Harinas Elizondo’s construction teams on how to build and commission the systems. Since the startup it has been smooth sailing for the new mill, in terms of keeping the Laidig equipment updated and operational.
“It’s been quite simple,” said Iriso. “The information and instructions the Laidig team sends are really accurate.”
It is the custom-engineered, easy-to-use, state-of-the-art equipment that strengthens Harinas Elizondo and other companies like them, and renews their partnership to Laidig’s automated reclaim systems time after time.
“If you want to go big, there is no other solution than Laidig.”