... when the baker drops by

“We make genuine flour here. What that means to me? Being able to enjoy the end product when the baker delivers his bread”, says Marcel van den Berg, miller. Marcel comes from Heerlen (married; two children; hobby: writing songs) and learned the trade in the Commandeursmolen. “The miller craft is expansive. There are many different tasks. Being alert at all times and organizing things well is the most important issue. A fantastic job. No two days are the same.”

Helmswoman

There was a time Josien Mooibroek (married to Raoul Schyns) wanted to be an ocean-going helmswoman. The ocean-going part was not to be, but she definitely became a helmswomen, responsible for quality control in the mill. For ten years, Josien was at the wheel of the successful “Commandeur Inn” that was situated next to the Commandeursmolen, before joining the mill team. “We work hard here, with a fair dose of ‘mill fun’ from time to time.” She is still astonished that that “a single grain of seed” can be turned into so many different kinds of flour, each with its own taste, colour, scent and structure, and suitable to so many different finished products.

Blood is thicker...

Raoul Schyns (married to Josien Mooibroek; two children; living in Heerlen) is the representative of the fifth generation of Schyns millers in the south of Limburg. For several years he studied veterinary medicine and law. But blood is thicker than water. He decided to become a miller. “Once you have been infected with the ‘miller’s virus’, there is no going back. In the rich history of this mill built in 1200 I feel like a witness to antiquity. But our customers are the most important factor of all. Making flour our customers can use to distinguish themselves in the marketplace.”

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