UK
On July 8, HRH The Princess Royal visited Buhler Sortex’s recently constructed purpose-built manufacturing and research facility at Beckton in East London.
The company, a world leader in rice milling and optical sorting technology for the agricultural and food processing industries, moved to its new premises in July 2007 to accommodate the development of its previous site within the Olympic Park - the centrepiece of the 2012 London Olympic Games.
As president of the British Olympic Association and a noted Olympian, Her Royal Highness takes a keen interest in the legacy of the Games and the long term benefits that will result from the investment in urban renewal that they inspire.
During her visit she was shown all aspects of the manufacturing process and was given an overview of the research, marketing and administrative functions. She found a demonstration of the Sortex Z+ sorter in action of particular interest."When the two founders started the business in 1947 their first optical sorters could process a few pounds of peas an hour," said managing director Bruno Kilshaw, recalling the origin of the company - then known as Gunson’s Sortex - prior to its acquisition by Buhler AG of Switzerland in 1994. "Now we develop and manufacture sorters that ensure the most consistent and highest quality agricultural products by eliminating discolored and misshapen elements and foreign material with maximum efficiency. We can, for example, sort 12 tons of milled rice an hour. We have installations in over 100 countries and are active in every grain, pulse, nut, seed and frozen food sector.
"We may have had to move from our home at Pudding Mill Lane but we welcome the Olympics and see the Games as encouragement for us to continue to grow and innovate. Over the past four years we have grown our business by over 10% per annum and our 200 people will be delighted to know that our current order book shows an increase of more than 20% over last year," Kilshaw said.
"I was particularly delighted to welcome Her Royal Highness because we have won five Queens Awards for Industry in recent years. We shall make every effort to add to that total."
