At the turn of the year Cimbria designed and built a new storage facility for durum wheat at Barilla Spa, a world leader in the production of pasta.
The new storage plant represents key logistical support for the economic and productive development of Barilla and it was decided to build it in Parma at the headquarters of the Italian giant.
Cimbria supplied – on a turnkey basis – the reception from trucks and trains and the conveying of the durum wheat that Barilla collects from all over the world and processes in its mills in Parma for the production of semolina and by-products. The intake rate of the grain amounts to 200 t/h and the product is pre-cleaned and then stored in 16 silos which have a capacity of approx. 3750 tonnes each.
The Cimbria incoming transport system is made up of chain conveyors and bucket elevators. These machines have been equipped with all the necessary safety accessories for fully automated functioning of the plant, thus enabling a minimal presence of personnel during operation. To avoid any cross-contamination between the different types of wheat, all conveying units have been equipped with accessories for self-cleaning.
The stored grain is then extracted from silos and transferred to the mills for the milling process through a system of chain conveyors and belt conveyors at an hourly capacity of 140 T/h. The system that transfers the product is 300 m long; this distance is covered by a metal aerial catwalk designed by Cimbria.
The software management system allows the use of the plant even without the presence of personnel, with the alarm system and the remote management of utilities providing constant supervision of operations from anywhere. Recipe management for the accumulation of the different varieties of wheat is handled automatically by the operator, who decides to convey the products in the various bins without any risk of contamination.
The strategic plant commissioned for Barilla confirms the excellent position of Cimbria in the Italian market.
