Since 1858, Schyns millers has been a true family company that values quality, honesty and long term relationships, among others with its employees. They are shown honest appreciation for their efforts. We give them the opportunity, space and confidence to evolve. And as a result, they always aim for the best possible product which results in satisfied customers. Here is an introduction to the team of the Commandeursmolen:
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The history of the Commandeursmolen goes back all the way to the Middle Ages. It was mentioned for the first time in 1215, when the Lords of Wittem presented the mill to the Order of the Knights of Malta. Centuries later, the grain mill doubled as a paper factory, run by the Thielens family who founded the Royal Dutch Paper Mill KNP. In 1882 Joseph Schyns, the son of a miller from the Belgian Voer region took over the business. He turned the entire structure back into a grain mill and modernized the equipment, permitting production around the clock.
A later, sweeping modernization was realised under management of Raoul Schyns, beginning in 1994. With respect for the age-old history and tradition he has undertaken a number of adaptations and innovations in order to prepare the mill for the future.
The Commandeursmolen is perfectly suited for large quantities, but it is not a factory. And due to an increase in scale and automation it is not an ordinary mill either. It is a grain mill, joining all of the modern demands of quality and efficiency with a foundation of ancient artisanal mechanics and skills.
The Commandeursmolen has seven pairs of mill stones and a large silo complex of 12 times 30 metric ton. The infrastructure consists of sophisticated grain cleaning machinery, separate production lines for different kinds of flour, mixing vessels, flour bunkers, a bagging line with pallet stackers and a filtering plant. The PLC (programmable logic controller) with fully automatic scales for different kinds of flour and bran enables us to make any product our customers want.
The Commandeursmolen takes great pride in consistently delivering top quality – not an easy thing to achieve when dealing with natural products. Among others, this is accomplished by mixing different lots of grain in the right proportions. Because in itself grain is a very changeable product, influenced by sun and rain.
Grain is procured in the vicinity as much as possible. We buy most of the wheat in the Dutch polders; the spelt comes from the Belgian Ardennes and France, and the rye both from France and the hinterland of Aachen. Grain species we can’t procure regionally are brought in from greater distances, including kamut from North America and rice from Italy.