Vancouver, Washington-based ABM Equipment, the primary supplier of grain handling systems to the industry, is announcing the release of a new mill on April 27. The new 2-roller mill was designed to resolve the issues typical of other dust-tight options like roller drift, flooding issues, lack of roller position tracking, and bearing greasing. During development, ABM asked 2,500 brewers which features they would like to see added and were able to implement most requests.
Primarily targeting the brewing and distilling industries, ABM Equipment will be starting the new roller mill line with a 9×9 model and quickly thereafter follow with a 3-roller designed for smaller breweries, then 4 and 6-roller mills for distilleries. Committed to releasing the mill on the first day of the Craft Brewers Conference, ABM Equipment is working with current customers to test the mill and is still open to other breweries who don’t have a mill but would like to test one. The release is currently scheduled for 11 a.m. at booth 3715.
“I expect this will become the industry-standard as people dig into it,” said David Leonchick, designing engineer, “because it’s designed from users’ perspectives rather than a manufacturer’s.”
Aside from being dust-tight, the new mills have a few convenience features that brewers have requested over the years. The roller apparatuses have been refined, allowing the mills to stay in-tune for longer than existing mills. This keeps grinds more consistent and saves time adjusting the rollers. Secondly, the hoppers are hinged and easily lifted so operators can easily access the rollers to see what’s going on or clear them if needed. More features and fixes will be announced later.
These mills will mark the fourth new solution that ABM has brought to the industry in roughly a year after releasing the taproom accessories line in January, the grain handling software in April, and the dust collection systems in October. ABM Equipment will also be giving away some taproom accessories to the winners of a cornhole contest at CBC.
For more information, visit ABMEquipment.com or contact John Hilgendorf at 503-347-8104 or jhilgendorf@abmequipment.com.