Infrastructure
Introduction
Zulfiqar Ahmed Rice has long been the leader in the development and supply of solutions for the rice industry. Our state-of-the-art infrastructure is located at Daska Road Sialkot. It is equipped with the latest machineries for complete processing of the rice, from milling and sorting to polishing and packaging. This combination of selective machinery and strict quality control has enabled our rice to pass the toughest chemical tests invoked by the Govt. of Japan. Currently the rice storage capacity of the plant is 40,000 MT, Paddy drying capacity of 50 MT/hr, Milling capacity is 20 MT/hr and Parboiling plant capacity is 10 MT/hr. The quality of the product and dedication of the staff has brought marvelous response to the fortunes of Zulfiqar Ahmed Rice Mills
The Plant
The plant is equipped with the most modern machinery and advanced laboratories for extensive testing. The production capacity of the plant stands at 75000 MT of raw rice per annum, the total processing capacity is of 20 MT/hr, processing capacity of the plant is 500 MT of paddy per day. The mill consists of paddy cleaners, de-stoners, thickness graders, polishers, wet polishers, length graders and rotary sieves. The infrastructural area in total includes processing Mills Machinery Mills, quality Testing Laboratories and Product Analysis Laboratories. As well, we have fully equipped laboratory and R & D facilities for testing the paddy as well as rice. Company investments in plant and property exceeds US$ 20 million which shows the amount of commitment the company has towards achieving its objectives
Zulfiqar Ahmed Rice unit boasts state-of art computerized facilities, which is continuously invests in the most advance technology to improve its operations, enhance product quality, and increase production efficiency. Our machines focus on removing all extraneous materials such as weed, dust, rock paddy rice and substandard grains and other foreign particle are separated through our high-technology color sorter, for final upgrading before transfer to packing process and the final product is completely manufactured.
Parboiling Capacity
Through investment in machinery, our current Parboiling capacity is (10) M/TONS P.H. The process is far superior than the conventional methods in terms of mitigating development of unwanted smells and ensures hygienic processing of the grain, preserving its fragrance and aroma during the processing. The requirements of soft water for parboiling process are met by an integrated water treatment plant.
Drying Plant
Drying is a most critical operation after harvesting. Delays in drying, incomplete drying or ineffective drying will reduce seed quality and result in a reduction in viability. Well-dried seeds retain their viability for longer periods under good storage conditions. Wet seed, on the other hand, is more vulnerable to pest and disease attack and to deterioration in physical quality. Wet seed also leads to natural respiration during storage creating “hot spots” within the seed lot. These hot spots promote the growth of insects and the development of fungi and other pathogens. At Zulfiqar Ahmed Rice we understand the importance of Seed drying to reduce the moisture content of the seed to a safe level for storage. The drying techniques must maintain seed quality by not decreasing the seed’s viability
Rice Milling
Currently our Husking capacity is 20 M/TONS P.H, by utilizing advanced technology, along with its ability to employ and retain a skilled, dedicated workforce, the mill is able to fulfill the most demanding specification for milled rice. The state-of-art husking plant of Zulfiqar Ahmed Rice uses 21st century technology from “Satake”. The online inflow and outflow mechanisms are fully computerized with the help of sensors. The plants and are equipped with number of Pre cleaners, De-stoners, Precision-sizers, Graders, Paddy separators, De-huskers, Magnets etc. The plant premises are environment friendly and fully protected against contamination by foreign particles.
Storage in Silos
Zulfiqar Ahmed Rice is among a select set of rice manufacturing companies, based in Pakistan, who had imported silos from USA for storage of rice. The purpose of any grain storage facility is to provide safe storage conditions for the grain in order to prevent grain loss caused by adverse weather, moisture, rodents, birds, insects and micro-organisms like fungi. Storage is a critical operation and losses can easily occur if preventive measures are not taken. In Asia, between 70 and 90 percent of farm-produced paddy remains in the farms and the rest is deposited in or sold to agricultural cooperatives or sold to the private sector. Appropriate storage is therefore required, both for rice for consumption (milled or paddy) and for rice for seed purposes. We at Zulfiqar Ahmed Rice possess the technology that is required to ensure our customers get the best end product.
Godowns Storage
Apart from having made investment in Silo storage we also have more warehousing facilities which consist of Twenty two (22) go down halls in 3 factories having rice storage capacity of forty thousand (40,000) metric ton. The warehouses have Separate fumigation chambers for cleaner insect free environment.
Rice Processing
Currently our processing Capacity is 20 M/TONS P.H, the state-of-art processing plants for rice production have fully mechanized sophisticated processing procedures for different stages like cleaning, de-stoning, polishing, sorting and grading. In these hi-tech milling plants every stage conforms to international standards and stringent guidelines of process control are meticulously adhered to at every stage to ensure uniformity of grains without destroying fragrance, aroma and basic quality of grain.
Cleaning
Winnowers are relatively simple machines that consists mainly of a hopper to receive the grain, a fan and a set of sieves. Pre-cleaners: These motor-driven devices are generally used to pre-clean grains that have been harvested when moist, before it goes to the artificial dryer. Cleaner-separators: The cleaner-separators are motor-driven and consist of a reception hopper, a fan and a set of vibrating sieves that clean grain by repeated suction of the lightest impurities, followed by sifting of the grain.
Whitening & Polishing
During whitening and polishing, bran layers are removed from the brown rice. This not only enhances the appearance of the rice but also increases its shelf life, since the lipids contained in the beginning and the bran layers are highly susceptible to enzymatic and non-enzymatic oxidation. The bran removal is best achieved in several steps to ensure evenly milled rice with minimum broken grains and optimum uniformity. The whitened rice is then polished to give it a silky finish.
Zulfiqar Ahmed Rice emphasizes on the standardized quality of its food products and has as a result, been awarded with numerous certifications for its unflagging efforts. At this point it is imperative to mention that the company is ISO 9001 certified from a leading certification body.
Our business practices and processes are designed to achieve quality results that exceed the expectations of customers, colleagues, investors, business partners and regulators. Our investment in modern machinery and strict quality control processes has enabled our rice to pass the toughest chemical tests invoked by the government of Japan. Zulfiqar Ahmed Rice has three independent reprocessing plants, which consist of pre-cleaners, paddy separators, de-stoners, Whiteners, double stage mist polishers, length graders and finally the world’s best color sorting machines from buhler and satake.