F

Researching and Reporting

Figure 3: Royal steam mill - Hedrick & Strauss

Corporation, Budapest

The roller flour milling

revolution
Question:

Name 6 Hungarians who made significant

international contributions to their country.

Answer: Laszlo Biro; Zsa Zsa Gabor; Abram Ganz; Ferenc

Liszt; Andras Mechwart; Erno Rubik.
Would a contemporary roller flour miller, or a world grain
dealer, have known the names of Abram Ganz and
Andras Mechwart? Perhaps not, because the answers lie
in Hungary

by Rob Shorland-Ball for Milling and Grain

mentioned in my previous contribution to the

magazine that: I am spending 5 days in Budapest
exploring, and photographing, the surviving roller
mill sites and buildings in a city which was once
the centre of European roller flour milling. That
visit was very successful; I did not meet Ganz or
Mechwart because they died, respectively, in 1867
and 1907, but I saw several of the buildings to
which they made important contributions and have
subsequently found map and picture evidence of Budapests lead
in developing roller flour milling and influencing the United
Kingdom.
The map extract in Figure 1 shows [Jozsef] Henger Malom,
the first steam-powered roller mill in Budapest which first milled
flour on 15 September 1841. Immediately North West is a later
Mill owned by Karoly [Charles] Haggenmacher the Swiss-born
miller and inventor; this Mill illustrates the fact that by the 1890s
Budapest was one of the worlds leading roller flour milling
centres.
An artists impression of the new Jozsef mill which I was
shown in Budapest may not be accurate but gives an impression
of its size, and confirms that the milling machinery was steampowered. More relevant to the above quiz question; is that Abram
Ganz, Swiss-born like Haggenmacher joined the Joszef Mills
extensive workshops in 1841 so learned something of the flour
milling business in a technologically advanced mill.
By 1844 Ganz had his own foundry in Pesth, the part of what
is now Budapest to the east of the River Danube and began
to manufacture roller mill stands which were advertised, and
adopted in the United Kingdom:
Nineteenth century advertisements, perhaps partly because there
were then many fewer channels of media communication, are
useful sources of additional information for historical research:
Gustav Adolf Bucholz was a Prussian engineer who set up
an agency in the UK to import and install European rolling
milling machinery
Chilled Iron Rollers were Ganzs invention which ensured
a true and hard-wearing surface for the rollers in Ganz Roller
Mill frames.
Andras Mechwart (from the quiz question) was a German-born
engineer who was invited to Hungary by Ganz in 1859 to work
with him and, after the latters death in 1867, Mechwart headed
the Ganz factory as Managing Director for 25 years. He was

24 | Milling and Grain

Figure 1: Historical map of Budapest

the co-author of a number of inventions and improvements

to the roller flour milling processes and the reference in the
advertisement is to a patented invention to adjust the nip of the
rolls and reduce friction so save power.
Smooth roller mills were generally for reduction of
middlings and semolina to flour. Ganz also manufactured
fluted rolls for breaking the wheat berries in the first stages
of the gradual reduction process.
The concluding paragraph in the advertisement illustrates the
progress of the roller flour milling revolution where Ganzs
chilled iron roller mills are . . . entirely taking the place of
Millstones ...
Although the bullet points above from the Bucholz & Co
advertisement are all relevant and correct, advertisements may be
suspect as historical research sources because they are productfocused and unlikely to be objective. Other sources, like the
Proceedings of professional institutions, are generally sound
and in the 19th century the changes in the flour industry which I
have embraced by the term Roller Flour Milling Revolution were
occasioning learned comment:
it has been erroneously supposed that, the Hungarians, had,
by some imaginary secret processes, been able to eclipse the
corn-millers of all other nations. It may be well to state here
that there are no such secret processes but that the Hungarians
have produced flours still unsurpassed in excellence by skilful
manipulation of their native wheats (which, though yielding
very bad flour when ground by old methods, possess admirable
qualities).
The processes used in Hungary are based on the principle of

F
markets. Several different economic factors together contributed
dividing the flour produced from the same wheat into 8 or 10 or
to the development and success of this large-scale mill industry:
12 different qualities. The fine qualities, which command very
Transport developments:
high prices, find their market ... in
Modernising transportation began
certain parts of the United Kingdom.
with the Danubian steamships in the
Now the English miller must
1830s, but the real transformation
manufacture for local demand; for,
was brought about by the rise of
having already incurred the cost of
rail transportation, which decreased
freight, and carriage on the wheat in
shipping time. Since wheat in
bringing it to his mill (wheat which
Hungary was harvested earlier than
he may have to buy in competition
in Western Europe, both Hungarian
with his foreign competitor), he
(wheat) and flour were able to reach
cannot afford to pay another freight
Western European markets before
on the flour to carry it to a distant
the competition. From the 1850s
place of consumption where he will
intensive urban development began
meet again the competition of the
which resulted in the construction
Hungarian or American miller, who
of new roads, wharfs, ports, bridges,
can send flour direct to the same
rail yards, warehouses, etc. Budapest
place and thus incur only one freight
became the main transportation hub
on it (and that freight less than the
of the country.
wheat freight).
Crop trade developments: The
- from: Proceedings of Institute of
cities of Pest and Buda (known as
Civil Engineers Vol LXX. 16 May
Budapest from 1873) provided an
1882 by William Proctor Baker
ideal setting for large-scale mill
(miller)
production, as the city gradually
So back to my researches in
Figure 2: Ganz roller mills in a English journal 1879
became the centre of nationwide
Budapest and the development of
crop trade, which meant that the
roller flour milling in the city during
mills had a steady supply of grain at all times.
the mid nineteenth century:
Capital entrepreneurship: from the 1850s onwards, Pest
Like Royal Steam Mill in Figure 3, all Budapest mills operated
merchants, gained increasing prominence and began to form a
on a large scale: they ran on steam, they worked non-stop, and
capitalised entrepreneurial circle investing in various industrial
they conducted business both in domestic and international

January 2015 | 25

The stomach of Budapest. The first

large mill in Ferencvaros, Concordia, was
built in 1865 in Soroksari Road which
is just in-shore of the railway tracks and
warehouses. As the proximity of the
river made it faster to transport the grain,
and flour, many other mills were built in
Soroksari Road. The second big mill, the
Mill of Millers and Bakers of Budapest
started grinding in 1868. The Gizella and
Kiraly mills were opened in 1880 and the
last one, Hungaria was built in 1893.
As an important complement to the
big
mills of Ferencvaros, the largest
Figure 5: 2014
Figure 4: Gizella steam mill Budapest, 1920s
warehouse in Budapest, the Elevator
House was built in 1883 and was the most
prominent
shore-side
building
until it was demolished in 1948.
enterprises. Members of this circle became the primary
This multi-storey warehouse at Boraros Square was one of
investors in the mill industry. By the time of the union of Pest
the tallest buildings of the capital. It contained 290 bins with an
and Buda (1873), Budapest was already the economic capital
overall storage capacity of 36,000 cubic metres. The scoops of the
of the country in every aspect.
3 machine-operated paternoster lifts unload 65 tons of grain every
Technological innovations: The Budapest steam mill industry
hour from the ships. The grain is weighed by automatic scales then
developed ... thrived ... and advanced by the continued
taken by 10 other paternoster lifts, at the speed of 80-85 tons per
development and implementation of important technological
hour, then finally, through tubes it is elevated into the cells.
innovations (such as the work of Ganz and Mechwarts and
From railway wagons, the grain is taken to the scales, from there
the willingness to bring in expertise from Switzerland like
to the paternosters, which deliver it through the tubes to the cells.
the inventions and roller mill improvements of Hans Caspar
The cells are emptied into sacks through the scales again. The
Escher, Salomon von Wyss, Jakob Sulzenberger and Adolf
whole operation is run without human power.
Buhler. (More quiz names!)
Edited from: Budapest Muszaki Vtmutatoja [The Technical
Edited from: The Global Agricultural Crisis and the Steam
Guide of Budapest] edited by Illes Aladar Edvi Budapest, 1896,
Mill Industry of Budapest in the Nineteenth Century: Influence
The Elevator House was damaged by bombing in WWII and
and Response Judit Klement (Hungarian Academy of Sciences,
subsequently demolished in 1948 but the mills in Soroksari Road
Institute of History) 2014
remain and, apart from Concordia, have been converted into
Miller Baker commented on the number of grades of Hungarian
apartments and offices. Figure 4 is a poster advertisement for
flour which gradual reduction millers could produce.
Gizella Malom and Figure 5 is my photograph of the converted
We know that imported Hungarian flour was popular in the UK
mill taken in 2014.
and, with imported Hungarian hard wheat, represented a serious
Concordia, one of the largest remaining mills contains Budapest
economic threat to country mills still using millstones and trying
Museum of Milling, now closed to the public but still containing
to produce saleable white flour.
an internationally significant collection of mill machinery and
However, Hungary was in turn facing powerful competition
records in the care of the Museum of Hungarian Agriculture. I
from the United States. Mills in and around Minneapolis
was privileged to visit the collection in Concordia with Andrea
intensively increased their grinding capacity from the 1880s
Korosi, Deputy Director of the Museum and Dr. Tibor Sebok,
onwards. Key factors in the Minneapolis boom were new
former Director of the Museum of Milling and from a milling and
achievements of economic development characterising the years
mill-engineering family.
of peace after the Civil War; crops grown in enormous swathes
Concordia Mill was working between 1866 and 1929 and then
of agricultural lands in the west; an efficient rail network which
became a warehouse. It was rail-connected and was close to
made the transport of crops from the west and mid-west to the
River Danube and the Elevator House.
East Coast possible; and steamboats shipping grains to Europe.
Today it has a variety of office and warehouse uses but the
Thanks to US railways and steam boat companies, American
structure is deteriorating so there is concern for the long-term
flour producers were able to keep their prices lower than the
future of the Museum of Milling collections.
Hungarian competition, despite increasing customs duties. Their
There is much more to tell of Budapests roller flour milling
favourable pricing also benefited from the fact that production
history and although it was relatively short-lived we can learn
was nearly fully automatic, which ensured non-stop, large-scale,
production and low production costs. In addition, North American from Hungarian experiences in researching the Roller Flour
Milling Revolution in the UK.
grain was as hard as its Hungarian counterpart, and was suitable
Since this is an international journal I would like to conclude by
for producing similarly high-quality flour.
publicly thanking my hosts and guides in Budapest:
Paragraph above edited from: The Global Agricultural Crisis
Zsofia Potsa General Secretary Hungarian Grain & Feed
and the Steam Mill Industry of Budapest in the Nineteenth
Association [see International Milling Directory]
Century: Influence and Response Judit Klement (Hungarian
Andrea Korosi (Deputy Director), Laszlo Szabo (Curator,
Academy of Sciences, Institute of History) 2014
Milling); Gabor Gergely (Curator, Maps & Papers) Museum
Helped by my recent research visit to Budapest I have been able
of Hungarian Agriculture
to witness, and to learn more about, the mid-19th century flour
Tibor Sebok former Director, Museum of Milling
milling industry in the city.
Gabor and Judit Zsigsmund contacts via BKV Zrt
Ferencvaros is the District of Budapest, south of the centre of the
All were welcoming, very patient and very helpful; thank you
city and on the low-lying east bank of River Danube where many of
again!
the new steam roller flour mills were built. The area was nicknamed
28 | Milling and Grain