Recipe optimisation and REACH-regulation in one single package. 

“During the optimisation process we see all of the safety icons appear, which gives us flexibility to play with ingredients and admixture percentages until we reach the desired result. This is all thanks to Adifo’s REACH module and constitutes a great asset for our company.” René Slagmolen, Director, Twilmij.

Since its establishment in Stroe (NL) in 1963, Twilmij B.V. has grown to become a top-rank manufacturer of high-quality premixes, milk substitutes and specialities for the fodder industry. It has 30 employees and produces 25,000 tonnes of premixes per year. Twilmij is in the top three in the Netherlands and has a substantial market share in north-west Europe.

More administration with the REACH legislation

Just like other premix manufacturers, Twilmij has been subject to the REACH Regulation since April 2010 (in the Netherlands). This piece of legislation stipulates that, from now on, environmental, health or safety symbols must appear on dangerous products, inclu­ding R and S phrases. For Twilmij, which puts together new products every day at its cli­ents’ request, this represents an additional administrative burden.

As René Slagmolen, Director at Twilmij, explains: “Each raw material – simple or compound – has a specific classification. The end product is also given a classifi­cation based on the raw materials used, which leads to an indication on the label. The problem is that we have over 2,000 recipes, to which new ones are added every year. Also, not every client wants a hazard symbol on his product because he in turn is then also subjected to ad­ditional safety requirements.”

BESTMIX® en REACH-regulation

To optimise recipes, Twilmij has already been using Adifo’s BESTMIX®  for 18 years, which is ideal for use in the premix and feed sector. In 2005, Twilmij changed over to BESTMIX’s Windows version as it is more modern and user-friendly, and because it offers an extra functionality for determining specifications.

“As far as the REACH legislation is concerned, packages are available on the market that import BESTMIX®  data and calculate the classification based on the recipe. However, if the result does not meet the client’s require­ments, we at BESTMIX must start over from scratch, which we found to be an impractical solution. For this reason, we went to Adifo to ask them if there wasn’t an easier way,” says René Slagmolen.

Adifo was very attentive to Twilmij’s questions because many of its clients are confronted with the same is­sue. Twilmij offered to take part in a pilot project for the development of a REACH module in BESTMIX®.

BESTMIX’s REACH module has the edge thanks to its flexibility

In October 2009, Adifo organised brainstorming sessions with several colleagues from the sector. “Adifo’s ap­proach was fantastic. The REACH legislation is really complex, but they really sank their teeth into it,” explains René Slagmolen. By the end of February the trial version was ready, and at the end of March, the final version was already running at Twilmij. The module was implemented in just one week.

“During the optimisation process, we see all of the safety symbols appear, which gives us flexibility to play with ingredients and admixture percentages until we reach the desired result. This is all thanks to Adifo’s REACH module and constitutes a great asset for our company. We cover all the labels, safety documents etc. required by the REACH legislation with a single package. It couldn’t be easier!”