Bühler Networking Days 2025: growing business, lowering carbon footprint
Bühler Networking Days 2025 brought together more than 1,200 business leaders from the food, feed, and sustainable mobility and materials sectors at the company’s headquarters in Uzwil, Switzerland, from 23 to 25 June. Under the theme “Multiplying Impact Together”, the event focused on the pressing challenge of building businesses capable of feeding and moving 10 billion people sustainably by 2050. Four local customers took part in the flagship event, according to Marco Sutter, Managing Director of Bühler Southern Africa.
“We are moving from vision to execution, highlighting technologies, partnerships, and case studies that are already making a difference,” commented Sutter. “The theme is a direct reflection of our belief that collaboration is the key to real progress.” Established in 1972 in South Africa, Bühler works closely with customers, industry players, and government to co-create solutions that not only drive business success but also contribute to food security, skills development, and sustainability. “It is about scaling positive impact through joint action,” explained Sutter.
Chris Roets, Managing Director of Carolina Rollermeule, said: “It was a privilege to return to Uzwil for the Networking Days, this time with my son, making it an even more memorable experience. The event was an incredible opportunity to connect, learn, and be inspired. Winning the Miller of the Day award was a wonderful and unexpected honour. A heartfelt thank you to Bühler and the entire team for hosting such a professional, engaging, and impactful event.”
In the spirit of “Multiplying Impact Together”, Roets added he was proud to share that Carolina Rollermeule is transitioning its factory to solar energy, meaning all its Bühler equipment will now run on renewable power. “This marks a major milestone in our journey toward sustainability and responsible production,” said Roets.
He added: “We are also multiplying impact through quality and food safety. A key takeaway from the Networking Days was seeing the Bühler Sortex solutions and engaging directly with the passionate team behind it. That experience was instrumental in our decision to invest in the system. With its advanced optical sorting capabilities, the Sortex SPARK Pro+ enables us to detect and remove even the smallest impurities, significantly raising the standard of our grain products.”
The SPARK Pro sorter is Bühler’s most user-friendly and affordable optical sorter to date. With its zero-spillage design that prevents material waste and 75 years of engineering experience behind it, the sorter delivers food safety and quality at an unbeatable value. “Together with Bühler, we are not just modernising our operations, we are helping to build a safer, more sustainable food system for the future,” said Roets.
Collaboration as a catalyst for innovation
Speaking at the event, Bühler Group CEO Stefan Scheiber described the power of collaboration and cooperation to multiply the impact of innovation. “Every breakthrough, partnership, and bold decision has the potential to create ripples, spreading knowledge, inspiring action, and driving progress. By working together, businesses and industries do not just add incrementally to progress, they accelerate it by compounding their influence and scaling solutions far beyond what any single effort could achieve.”
The key message at the event was that sustainability is a sound business strategy that drives profitable growth and long-term resilience and is the outcome of strong leadership. Professor Johan Rockström, a leading expert on global sustainability, Director of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, and the architect of the Planetary Boundaries framework, highlighted the urgent need for industry to operate within Earth’s safe limits.
Professor Rockström encouraged leaders to speak openly about the business value of sustainability. “We must think of sustainability as central to competitiveness, security, stability, and health,” he said. “When a decision improves your performance, attracts talent, opens new markets, or enhances resilience, communicate that clearly: show that sustainability is not a burden – it’s a competitive advantage.”
Speakers throughout the event echoed the magnitude and urgency of the challenge, calling for accelerated innovation – in digital tools, process technologies, and business models – to deliver more value with fewer resources. Representatives from industry, business, and academia exchanged practical solutions to ongoing and emerging sustainability challenges at the event.
Bühler is a trusted technology partner across the entire food value chain, from grain handling and milling to rice processing, chocolate, and extrusion. Its expertise assists customers to unlock efficiency, quality, and sustainability, while its service teams ensure reliability and uptime. “We are not just providing machines. We are co-creating food solutions for the future,” said Sutter.
Delivering on bold promises
At the 2019 Networking Days, Bühler promised to have solutions ready to multiply by 2025 to reduce energy, waste, and water in its customers’ value chains by 50%. Since then, Bühler has invested nearly CHF 500 million in research and development to deliver on that promise. It has analysed the savings potential of 15 key value chains and developed new technologies and solutions.
“This work not only benefits the environment but also drives operational efficiency, creates jobs, and builds long-term resilience. We are helping our customers achieve significant reductions in energy consumption, waste generation, and water usage, delivering real impact up and down the value chain,” said Ian Roberts, Bühler Group CTO.
Bühler supports its customers in growing their businesses while lowering their footprint in many ways. Bühler offers new state-of-the-art solutions and optimises current systems through services including machinery refurbishment, digital process control, and predictive maintenance. These services lead to higher productivity and yields, resulting in better returns on investment alongside positive environmental impacts.
As a result, Bühler is delivering on its promise to multiply solutions that reduce energy consumption, waste, and water use in its customers’ value chains by 50%. According to Bühler’s value chain analysis, when combined with other technologies and solutions beyond Bühler’s portfolio, peak savings potential exceeds 80% in some value chains. The CO2e reduction potential is 71% for processing aluminum into finished products, 77% for transforming cocoa beans into chocolate, and 65% for processing rice.
Bühler Southern Africa looks forward to working with customers to bring these solutions home – advancing food security, efficiency, and sustainability across the continent.
Media contacts:
Taryn Browne, Head of Marketing, Southern Africa
Bühler (Pty) Ltd.
Bühler Southern Africa
Phone: +27 11 801 3500
Mobile: +27 66 307 4618
E-mail: taryn.browne@buhlergroup.com
Burkhard Böndel, Head of Corporate Communications
Bühler AG, 9240 Uzwil, Switzerland
Phone: +41 71 955 33 99
Mobile: +41 79 515 91 57
E-mail: burkhard.boendel@buhlergroup.com
Dalen Jacomino Panto, Media Relations Manager
Bühler AG, 9240 Uzwil, Switzerland
Phone: +41 71 955 37 57
Mobile: +41 79 900 53 88
E-mail: dalen.jacomino_panto@buhlergroup.com
Katja Hartmann, Media Relations Manager
Bühler AG, 9240 Uzwil, Schweiz
Mobile: +41 79 483 68 07
E-mail: katja.hartmann@buhlergroup.com
About Bühler
Bühler is driven by its purpose of creating innovations for a better world, balancing the needs of economy, humanity, and nature in all its decision-making processes. Billions of people come into contact with Bühler technologies as they cover their basic needs for food and mobility every day. Two billion people each day enjoy foods produced on Bühler equipment; and one billion people travel in vehicles manufactured using parts produced with Bühler solutions. Countless people wear eyeglasses, use smart phones, and read newspapers and magazines – all of which depend on Bühler process technologies and solutions. Having this global relevance, Bühler is in a unique position to turn today’s global challenges into sustainable business.
As a technology partner for the food, feed, and mobility industries, Bühler has committed to having solutions ready to multiply by 2025 that reduce energy, waste, and water by 50% in the value chains of its customers. It also proactively collaborates with suppliers to reduce climate impacts throughout the value chain. In its own operations, Bühler has developed a pathway to achieve a 60% reduction of greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 (Greenhouse Gas Protocol Scopes 1 & 2, against a 2019 baseline).
Bühler spends up to 5% of turnover on research and development annually to improve both the commercial and sustainability performance of its solutions, products, and services. In 2024, some 12,350 employees generated a turnover of CHF 3.0 billion. As a Swiss family-owned company with a history spanning 165 years, Bühler is active in over 140 countries around the world and operates a global network of 105 service stations, 31 manufacturing sites, and research and training centers in 26 locations.
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(Left to right) Wihan Roets, Christopher Roets, and Alexis Noel at the Bühler Networking Days 2025.
Bühler Networking Days 2025 in Uzwil, Switzerland, from 23 to 25 June 2025.
Chris Roets Managing Director of Carolina Rollermeule.
Four local customers took part in the flagship event.
Marco Sutter, Managing Director of Bühler Southern Africa. - From Uzwil to Southern Africa Bühler Networking Days 2025 strengthen_approved
From Uzwil to Southern Africa Bühler Networking Days 2025 strengthen_approved
The Bühler Networking Days 2025 Wrap-up video
