Bühler expands US service network with acquisition of Design Corrugating Companies

The US division of Bühler, the industry and equipment and systems group, has expanded its operations in enhancing its service network and range of offerings in acquiring roller mill specialist Design Corrugating Companies, based in Taylorville, Illinois, reports Neill Barston.

As the company explained, the move means it now operates seven such facilities in the region for sectors including chocolate processors, oilseed and feed, as well as brewers and distillers, inks and coatings.

Design Corrugating is a leading provider of roller mill parts and services, including roll reconditioning, new rolls, and other equipment parts and services, with facilities in Taylorville, IL, Oakdale, CA, Wichita, KS and Chattanooga, TN. It presently employs a team of around 20, and its present facilities will become new Service Centre sites in the Bühler Customer Service network, and the entire Design Corrugating staff has joined the Bühler team. Existing operations will continue unchanged, utilising the “pick-up, repair and deliver” model. Bühler will continue to provide parts and services for all makes and models of roller mills (an example of its Antares series pictured).

Future investments are planned for equipment that will allow new services to be delivered, and the full Bühler supply chain will be leveraged to improve competitiveness in terms of cost and efficiency. Customers will also benefit from Bühler’s deep process expertise as an Original Equipment Manufacturer, to deliver improved operational insights, along with the core services already provided.

“For us, this is only the starting point to develop the most comprehensive and value driving services in our industry,” says Andy Sharpe (below), CEO, Bühler North America. “Today, the installed assets base of many companies is not running as optimally as it could be and consequently, they are wasting energy and raw material, and suffering quality and efficiency losses. We experienced that, with our services, we can achieve step change for customers especially when connecting companies to Bühler Insights, our digital platform, they can achieve the highest process transparency based on data.”

“We are excited to now be part of the Bühler service network,” states Brett Poland, General Manager, Design Corrugating, who has become a Bühler team member and continues to lead the former Design Corrugating locations. “The added resources and support that comes with joining the Bühler Team, will help us reach new levels of productivity, expand our service offerings and improve quality to all our existing and future customers,” says Poland.

Digital connectivity, combined with local service centres and technical experts, will enable Bühler technicians to communicate and work on issues with plant operators in real time, using data and connected tools, such as BühlerVision, to deliver a much more proactive and responsive relationship, and maximise operational uptime and efficiency.

This acquisition represents the continuation of Bühler’s investment strategy in North America, following the addition of the Food Application Centre (FAC) in Minneapolis, acquisition of new service centre locations in Perham, MN and Springdale, AR, and upgraded office, production and application centre facilities in Cary, NC. With this, Bühler now operates 14 sales offices, four modern manufacturing facilities, 10 service centres, three application centres and two apprenticeship academies in North America. This infrastructure and a team of nearly 1,000 employees is laser focused on providing ever improving support to the North American market.

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