Maize milling: an industry ready to be explored

Jan Jordaan, brand leader for Roff Milling, spoke to Janine Ryan about the many opportunities awaiting aspiring millers and entrepreneurs in South Africa.

- Janine Ryan

COULD YOU PROVIDE A BRIEF HISTORY OF ROFF MILLING? WHEN WAS THE COMPANY ESTABLISHED, AND WHY?

Roff Milling was established over 30 years ago with the aim of providing high-quality maize milling equipment tailored for African conditions.

The company’s focus has been on delivering durable, efficient, profitable, and user-friendly milling solutions to support food security and entrepreneurship across the continent.

PLEASE PROVIDE AN OVERVIEW OF THE DESIGNS AND EQUIPMENT PROVIDED BY ROFF MILLING.

Roff Milling specialises in the design and manufacture of maize mills and milling equipment. The product range includes compact mills like the SP-1, capable of processing 650kg to 1t/hour of maize, to larger mills like the R-70, which processes up to 5t/hour. Additionally, Roff offers grain crushers, hammer mills, mixers, grain-cleaners, sifters, and other ancillary equipment. We also provide services like on-site support and roller fluting to ensure optimal machine performance.

WHAT ARE THE KEY TRENDS ROFF MILLING HAS OBSERVED IN THE SOUTH AFRICAN MAIZE MILLING INDUSTRY?

We have observed several key trends in the South African maize milling industry, namely:

• Increased demand for maize products. Due to Africa’s growing population and increasing urbanisation, the demand for maize products is on the rise, presenting opportunities for entrepreneurs and investors.

• Improving extraction rates. Due to the high cost of maize, millers have invested in optimising their extraction rates, which is the percentage of maize meal that can be extracted from the kernel without compromising on the quality of the end product. Improving this by a single percentage point by upgrading old equipment to new technology like Roff’s patented DGX Degerminator has a massive impact on the millers’ bottom line.