51 Years of Master Milling
The art of flour milling is as ancient as civilisation itself, an essential staple sustaining life over thousands of years.
Helping to feed and nourish the world carries with it a certain hero status, and this is one that Kerran Hunt lives up to.
This year Mr Hunt celebrates 51 years of milling at Narrandera Flour Mill, starting work at age sixteen. He fondly recalls his first day at work in 1967, “I got the milling bug and fell in love with the industry.”
Located in southern New South Wales, Manildra Group’s Narrandera Flour Mill Manager Aaron Hall said that exceptional flour comes from impeccable quality, consistency, and attention to detail.
“Kerran’s perfectionism, laser sharp precision and eye for detail can pick out differences in flours that most millers would never consider. A flour millers’ role is crucial in producing flours that deliver consistent results every time you bake. It takes more than ten years to train,” Mr Hall said.
“If there is a milling problem, Kerran is the man to solve it, with his expertise second-to-none,” he said.
Milling today is highly automated and efficient, evolving a long-way from the days of water driven and wind-driven mills, with electricity powering mills from the 1950s. Nevertheless, the wisdom, care, skill, knowledge, and expertise of an experienced flour miller remains invaluable in judging grist quality and control, supreme to the production of Manildra Group’s signature flours.
“When I started here, milling was completely manual – run by a single electric motor with line shafts and flat belts to every machine, so if there were any issues with product flowing the mill just kept running,” Mr Hunt reflected.
“Today the mill starts and stops at the click of a button, with continuous-flow operations throughout the year, and its capacity is more than ten times per hour than in 1971.”
Family-owned since its construction in 1900, the Narrandera Flour Mill has been home to flour milling operations for Wise Bros., Bunge Australia, George Weston Foods and, since 2002, Manildra Group.
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