Szatmári Milling Company
The most advanced maize mill in Central Europe stands in Karcag, a county town on the western edge of the Great Hungarian Plain. This rural community has long been home to milling. Today, its owner Szatmári Milling Company is looking to the future thanks to state-of-the-art Bühler solutions. Recently installed equipment helps the business meet the growing demand for maize grits and flour while addressing processing challenges caused in part by climate change.
Peterjon Cresswell, November 2024
On the first floor of the five-story maize mill in Karcag in eastern Hungary, Maize Mill Manager József Svec and Miller Imre Szabó are looking at screens in the control room and exchanging satisfied nods of approval. Locally sourced maize is being processed to the exact specifications required for another new customer that the company has acquired. Like many of these, this new customer is also attracted by the gluten-free properties of maize flour.
Thirty years ago, as teenagers, Svec and Szabó both started out in this same building. Like generations before them, they rose through the ranks. Today, they stand at the top of their profession and at the cutting edge of Hungary’s milling industry.
The Karcag mill is one of six mills owned by the multifaceted, nationwide Szatmári Group, all of which operate with Bühler equipment. In this long-established relationship, the target is always a moving one. The latest addition to the Karcag complex, the maize mill was first fitted out with Bühler machinery in 2019. Then in March 2023, two Pulsroll hullers – the first of their kind operating in this part of Europe – were installed. They not only degerminate maize more smoothly and precisely, they also use up to 40 percent less energy compared to traditional degerminators. With 120 tonnes of maize to process every 24 hours, and with energy prices affected by the situation in neighboring Ukraine, these margins matter.
But energy is only one aspect in the decision to upgrade the technology. The machinery enables Svec to optimize the grinding process according to the quality of the raw maize, hard or soft, and to the exact fat content required by the customer. “In Hungary, we prefer hard maize kernels, but typically we receive the softer variety. The benefit of the new machines is that the processing is much gentler,” says Svec, a graduate of food engineering at Budapest’s prestigious Corvinus University.
This is the first time the Pulsroll huller has been used in Europe for maize. Using a solution developed for hulling pulses to degerminate maize may be new to Europe, however it is a well-established approach in Africa, where producers also confront the problem that maize is getting softer.
“With maize kernels getting softer, debranning and degerminating is becoming more challenging. Our Pulsroll huller allows you to gently remove the outer layer and gently remove the germ in pieces or whole,” explains Tino Boehm, Head of Market Segment Maize at Bühler. “This enables our customers to achieve the same or similar product specifications while increasing yield. At the Szatmári mill we have proven that this approach works.”
The process is not only gentle but flexible. As the maize kernels travel through the Pulsroll, the friction of the kernels on each other, on the sieve basket, and on the stones debrans and degerminates them. The granulation of the stones as well as the size of the openings of the sieve can be changed according to the result being targeted. The Pulsroll is unique in that the back pressure on the outlet gate can be controlled to prolong or shorten retention time of the grain in the machine. The clearance between the sieve basket and the stones can also be adjusted, as well as the brake bars.
“We have extensive expertise in processing maize. We also have a deep understanding of the unique market requirements of our customers. We know that these can differ even within countries,” says Boehm. “In order to select the right solution for each customer, we have a lengthy exchange with them about the quality of the maize they are processing and their target markets. Then we tailor the right solution for them to maximize quality and extraction.”
The investment in maize processing builds on a long tradition in milling in the region – one that began with wheat. In the Habsburg era, 125 years ago, Hungary was the world’s largest exporter of wheat flour after the United States. Thanks to an extensive rail network across the vast Austro-Hungarian Empire, the flour made in sophisticated roller mills in Hungary’s capital, Budapest, could be dispatched across Europe by train, and beyond by ship.
A track still runs by the Karcag complex today. Walk around the factory courtyard and birdsong will be broken by the familiar jingle played at Hungarian train stations before every announcement. The many local millers who ground by stone – as evidenced by a 160-year-old windmill still standing in Karcag – could also transport their goods easily.
These days, a fleet of trucks in the signature yellow and blue livery of the Szatmári Group dispatches the maize flour and maize meal from Karcag across the country and over borders. In the loading bay, where a large sign proclaims “Folyamatos fejlődés és minőség” (continual development and quality), sacks piled high carry labels outlining the nuances of difference in the maize flour within them. As well as being an important ingredient for animal feed, demand for maize for human consumption has been growing, partly driven by the fact that it is a naturally gluten-free grain. Karcag’s move into maize in 2019 was motivated partly by this and also by a desire for further diversification.
“Wheat was traditionally the main profile of our company,” says István Kökény, Managing Director of Kunság region milling under the broad Szatmári umbrella and an expert in agrarian economics. “We’re the market leader in the milling industry in Hungary. We have always and will continue to diversify. Maize is important from two points of view. There is increasing demand for gluten-free products for public health, and maize is Hungary’s big-gest crop produced by area. If I multiply the area by crop average, that comes to 7-8 million tonnes a year, of which only about 4.5 million tonnes are needed for internal use. This definitely gives us a great opportunity.”
What we have here in Karcag is the most state-of-the-art mill in Central Europe. With this technical superiority, we are ready for the future.
István Kökény,
Managing Director, Szatmári Group
Two hours’ drive west of Karcag, Budapest is a buzzing metropolis of 2 million people. As Hungary’s capital springs back from the pandemic, demands of restaurateurs, bakers, and confectioners are constantly rising, and the majority of their businesses carry gluten-free dishes or products.
While agriculture accounted for only around 3.2 percent of Hungary’s GDP in 2022, half of its territory is given over to arable land. Hungary is self-sufficient and, as Kökény correctly posits, yields almost twice as much maize as locals consume. The service industry may now dominate the national economic landscape, and many of Karcag’s smaller mills can now only be seen in sepia photographs in Karcag’s Museum of Mill History, but milling is still a main source of income in the region. The Szatmári Group’s milling operation was largely developed by Kökény’s predecessor, Attila Tóth-Kása, who was Managing Director and Technical Director of the milling operation for many years. “Our colleague Attila Tóth-Kása developed the relationship with Bühler,” says Kökény. “From around 2005 on, pretty much every 2 years a new mill was built. Most of what is currently working elsewhere around Hungary is otherwise the product of an earlier generation, 20-30 years old.”
There has been very close collaboration with the Szatmári Group for decades. They trust us to deliver the machinery they need and provide expert technical support afterwards.
Antje German,
Area Sales Manager at Bühler Budapest
As Szatmári acquired more mills, Tóth-Kása, keen on keeping ahead of the now leaner competition, had the firm install Bühler equipment. The first was the flour mill at Törökszentmiklós, under Kunság Mills, in 1997. After Kunság became part of the Szatmári Group, flour mills fitted out with Bühler machinery were established in Jászberény, Veszprém, and Szeged.
“There has been very close collaboration with the Szatmári Group for decades,” says Antje German, Area Sales Manager at Bühler. She worked closely with Tóth-Kása during this time, seeing the Szatmári brand expand, taking more companies under its wing. “They trust us to deliver the kind of machinery they need and then provide expert technical support afterwards,” she says.
The Karcag mill was acquired in 2018. The reopening of the plant in 2019 as a maize mill warranted a visit from the then Hungarian Minister for Agriculture and former mayor of Karcag, Sándor Fazekas, who was delighted to announce the creation of 25 new jobs. With the decision made to focus on maize, Tóth-Kása turned to Bühler for its key equipment, including the separator machine, roller mill, automatic flow balancer, and automatic hopper scale. These were fitted by the Szatmári engineers under the supervision of the Bühler specialists working with them on site for several months.
Attila Tóth-Kása
*1964 – †2024
We are very sorry to learn of the passing of Attila Tóth-Kása. He has been a great friend over many decades. He will be much missed.
Even in the relatively short time since former mayor Fazekas was meeting and greeting in Karcag, a new challenge has come to the fore. “Climate change now has a significant impact on maize in the region,” Svec explains.
Warmer temperatures see a rise in mycotoxins. These are naturally occurring by-products of the metabolism of molds on grain and pose a serious health hazard. As mold thrives in warm, humid conditions, mycotoxins are becoming a greater challenge. “When the incoming delivery is still in the vehicle, we take a sample and test everything rigorously,” says Svec. This is taken care of by his colleague Gréta Kerekes, who carries out the controls in the laboratory on the same floor. “Quality control and precision checks are vital. There can be no room for cross-contamination,” Svec explains.
Kerekes also tests for moisture, another factor in a changing climate. By contrast, the autumn of 2023 was wet, with fears in Budapest of the Danube flooding its banks. “This increased the amount of moisture in the maize we received. With energy prices increasing, farmers have been looking to harvest maize without having to dry it first,” says Svec.
“The precision of the Pulsroll machines gives us a leading edge,” says Kökény. “With Bühler equipment we can handle both hard and soft raw material and get good yields. What we have in Karcag is the most state-of-the-art mill in Central Europe. With this technical superiority, we are ready for the future.”
Who: Szatmári Group
When: Szatmári Group’s Karcag Mill has been in operation since 2018.
Where: Karcag, Hungary
What: The Karcag Mill processes 120 tonnes of maize every 24 hours.
Customers: The company supplies customers in Hungary and abroad.
Bühler: Szatmári Group’s maize mill in Karcag uses Bühler technology including the Destoner MTSD, Huller Pulsroll® DRHG, Roller Mill Diorit MDDY, Purifier Puromat MQRF, Gravit separator MTLC, Plansifter Arenit MPAW-6, Batch Scale MSDM, and WinCos plant control system.
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