North Yorkshire malt manufacturer Boortmalt Group has secured a multi-million pound international productivity and technology programme with Siemens Digital Industries, the specialist digitalisation/Industry 4.0 division of the Siemens Group. The digital programme is designed to reduce costs by up to 30% across Boortmalt’s business.

Starting at Boortmalts’ Malton facility in North Yorkshire, before potentially being rolled out across other Boortmalt sites, the plan will see Siemens conduct an audit of the Malton plant. This will include the analysis of their utility consumption, raw material usage, machine performance and production processes which are key cost areas in the large-scale manufacture of malting malt.

“From a commercial, environmental and competitiveness perspective Boortmalt is totally committed to delivering value to their customers. We think we can make a great product for our customers and improve our productivity at the same time so it’s a win-win. Siemens’ track record in this area, combined with its de-risked financing capital investment model means we can achieve Boortmalt’s sustainability strategy with confidence,” said Peter Nallen, Chief Operating Officer from Boortmalt.

The North Yorkshire facility, which has been part of the local community for over 60 years, produces in excess of 50,000 MT of malt every year. The site exports its speciality malt products across the world.

Boormalt has ambitions to reduce their water consumption by 50% between 2010 and 2025 as well as reduce carbon emissions by 60% between 2010 and 2030. Both targets will be reached by deploying state of the art tech and boosting productivity.

Siemens is also working towards a range of targets and the deal is underpinned by a tailored innovative commercial model that de-risks financial performance metrics.

Other major manufacturers who have partnered with Siemens Digital Industries’ through similar productivity programmes in the UK include Pilkington Glass, Kingspan and Encirc.