Boortmalt, which is one of the largest malt manufacturers in the world, has partnered with Siemens Digital Industries on a major international productivity and technology programme which is designed to reduce costs by up to 30% across its business.

The programme is a multi-million pound investment and the first facility to undergo changes will be Boortmalt’s Malton facility in north Yorkshire in the UK. Changes may then be rolled out across other Boortmalt sites.

Siemens will conduct an audit of the Malton plant, which produces over 50,000t of malt every year. It has been part of the local community for over 60 years. The site exports its speciality malt products across the world, to markets such as Latin America and countries in the Asia Pacific.

The audit will include:
  • An analysis of its utility consumption;
  • Raw material usage;
  • Machine performance and production processes which are key cost areas in the large-scale manufacture of malt.

Ambitions of the project

Boortmalt had previously set targets to reduce its water consumption by 50% between 2010 and 2025, as well as reduce carbon emissions by 60% between 2010 and 2030.

These targets will be reached by deploying state of the art technology and boosting productivity according to Peter Nallen, chief operating officer at Boortmalt.

“From a commercial, environmental and competitiveness perspective Boortmalt is totally committed to delivering value to its customers. We think we can make a great product for our customers and improve our productivity at the same time so it’s a win-win,” he commented.

“Siemens’ track record in this area, combined with its de-risked financing capital investment model means we can achieve Boortmalt’s sustainability strategy with confidence.”

Brian Holliday, managing director from Siemens Digital Industries, said: “We employ a range of investigative and digital tools to work with our customers and have found that manufacturers like Boortmalt can achieve productivity improvement and reduced cost whilst lowering its carbon footprint when we co-create solutions.

“We also aim to add more value than traditional technology suppliers though our risk-based approach and I’m looking forward to working with Peter and his team to help unlock the next stage of improvements in Boortmalt’s excellence journey.”

Carbon footprint

In an effort to improve its sustainability, Boortmalt has surveyed the carbon footprint of more than 600 of its growers through use of the carbon trust model to date.

The company stated that it encourages its malting barley growers to adhere to several environmentally sustainable crop production methods, including: reduced insecticide usage; tailored fungicide programmes; targeted herbicide applications; rotational cropping; green cover and field selection; and invests in nutrient and logistics planning to achieve the best outcomes for both grain quality, quantity and carbon reduction.

Boortmalt is a member of the Sustainable Agriculture Initiative Platform (SAI Platform) and has been awarded ‘Silver’ status on the SAI Platform’s FSA.