Cutting-edge Milling Academy sets a new global benchmark – Bühler
Bühler has established a brand-new, cutting-edge Milling Academy, a 1,800-square-metre training facility for food and feed millers in the centre of its Swiss headquarters.
The facility blends decades of experience with the newest technology and teaching techniques to meet the changing demands of the business. Course participants can obtain a practical understanding of important industry areas through direct access to research and training facilities.
“With the opening of our new, state-of-the-art Milling Academy, we are empowering the next generation of milling professionals by offering advanced training, hands-on experience, and access to the latest technologies,” says Stefan Birrer, head of business area milling solutions at Bühler Group. “This ensures customers can meet evolving industry demands and drive continuous improvement throughout the food and feed sectors.”
The Milling Academy is the place where industry professionals can deepen their knowledge, expand their network, and drive innovation. The facility provides participants with direct access to Bühler’s Grain Innovation Center, multiple research and training centres, and the CUBIC innovation campus. Participants gain practical experience across every aspect of the milling process, from raw material intake to final packaging.
“The construction of the Milling Academy gave us the opportunity to design and implement everything exactly the way it makes the most sense for our customer training programs. We also took the opportunity to create many more ways for interactive learning directly at the machines,” says Dario Grossmann, head of the Milling Academy. “Participants tell us that with the Milling Academy, we’ve reached an entirely new level of quality. We are seeing increasing interest in training from our customers and are more than ready to meet this growing demand by continuing to provide the best training for millers in the future.”
Featuring three modern classrooms, various break-out spaces for self-learning and group work, and an arena located directly in the machine park, the facility offers a range of teaching environments. A welcoming coffee area fosters networking between participants from different courses and encourages knowledge exchange. Practical, hands-on training takes place on both the latest milling machines and older models, ensuring participants receive instruction tailored to the equipment they use in their own plants.
The Milling Academy also integrates advanced digital learning tools and features two laboratories: one for analytical training and another for electronics training and experimentation. It includes a fully automated school mill, which processes 24 tonnes per day, allowing for industrial-scale training. It also houses the School of Feed Technology (SFT), significantly expanding resources for both food and feed milling professionals.
The Milling Academy, alongside the School of Feed Technology, offers over 100 courses a year to over 750 trainees in seven languages. On top of that, customised training in Uzwil or directly at customer sites around the world are conducted by Bühler’s Milling Academy personnel.
Early participants have responded positively to the Academy’s design and approach: “The infrastructure and concept are outstanding. The welcoming atmosphere allows you to fully immerse yourself in the world of milling during the training. The instructors are highly skilled, and training materials are also extremely well prepared. Being located near all of the research and training centers also helps deepen your understanding of the company’s diverse business and the many interconnected processes,” says Oliver Efrain Romero Lucero, continuous improvement manager at CMI Alimentos in Guatemala.
Jan Tuborg Pedersen, team leader at Valsemøllen in Denmark, was also impressed by his experience: “I really like that it’s bright and modern, with large classrooms and big screens. For me, one of the most important innovations is that there’s now a showroom with all the machines we’re learning about, and you run into other students in the hallways. The direct connection between the Milling Academy and the Grain Innovation Center is incredibly useful, it gives you the freedom to move around, meet people, and ask questions wherever you go.”
