When you think of coffee roasting, you don’t intuitively think, “repetitive stress injuries,” or, “physical limitations.” You think about romantic aromas and that perfect first sip in the morning. But behind the scenes of every expertly roasted batch lies a physically demanding process that can take a toll on the people roasting it. SOVDA’s latest release, the Precision Silo, aims to solve this dilemma.

The Hidden Health Hazard in Coffee Roasting

At Black and White Coffee Roasters in Raleigh, North Carolina—the physical limitations of roasting became a problem that needed to be solved, quickly. 

"Through happenstance, we ended up working with roasters who are a bit small in stature,” said Kyle Ramage, Co-Founder of Black and White,”and so we realized that some of the jobs in the roastery are a bit prohibitive for people of smaller stature or who are not physically quite strong.

"So we're like, okay, cool. This is a problem because we feel like some of our best roasters don’t fit that body type. How do we design a system that doesn’t require physical strength or immense physical strength as part of the deal? Because you see the bigger roaster to my left here, the 70—that's a big machine."

Black and White roasts on three roasting machines—a 15kg Loring, a 35kg Loring, and a 70kg Loring. The three roasters—Hayley, Blake, and Kevin—switch between these three roasters every two week long periods. And Hayley and Blake are women and of the ‘smaller’ stature that Kyle was referencing.

“So when I was on the 70-kilo roaster, like, there were some days when we'd have like 2,000 pounds of coffee to scoop on, like, our biggest days.” Blake said. “And I would go home and be like, oh, my gosh, I lifted 2,000 pounds today."

"Like before we got the Precision Silo, I was honestly questioning, I love this job and I am thrilled to be here, but how much longevity do I have in this field to work because it’s so tiring?"

The issue that was building quickly drew to a head when one of the roasters, Hayley, was injured at work. "I actually injured myself at work because I was working on one of the bigger machines for an extended period of time. I popped my wrist out of place and I wasn't able to scoop for quite a while and I was just restricted to one of the smaller machines and I couldn't lift over 20 pounds for about a year and ended up having to work myself back up.

"And I think that’s part of the reason, one of the big reasons why Kyle decided to buy the Silo."

Kyle has a background in regulatory compliance and knew that they needed to solve this problem or make some big changes to how they hired and staffed the roastery. 

Hayley began to worry that she was going to lose this job that she loved so much and had spent so much time learning. 

"But ultimately that's when the conversation for the Silo really came into view,” said Matt Ferraro, director of operations and roasting at Black and White. “Realizing that we can alleviate the scooping, which was the major activity that was causing damage to roasters and moving that coffee around.”

The Precision Silo: An Innovation Rooted in Ergonomics

With the Precision Silo, Black and White can now streamline their workflow by using a forklift to transport green coffee pallets directly to the Silo's loading hopper. Once the bags are opened, gravity takes over, unloading the coffee beans into the hopper. No heavy lifting involved.

The user picks which chamber to load the coffee into and the Silo can load green coffee at 30-40kg per minute. That’s about 2 mins per bag, or about 20 mins per pallet. 

The Silo boasts eight 600kg chamber (1000L), holding a total of 4800kg of green coffee. 

When the roaster is ready to dispense the coffee for roasting, they choose which chamber to dispense coffee from and how much. The Silo dispenses a 70kg batch in 5 mins. Eliminating scooping and weighing, allowing the roaster to focus entirely on the perfect roast. 

"So you’re virtually lifting nothing, which has been my favorite thing about this whole Silo. Well, one finger, but it’s—yeah, you just go over there and then you can do something else while that’s working. You come back, and it’s ready for you.” Hayley said.

“I’m back on the 70 now. I can roast like, no problem. I’m not really lifting anything, and I’m not worried I’m going to hurt myself again. So that’s amazing. I can focus on the roast a lot more. Whereas before we had the Silo, it was a lot of focus on time management."

Which in the end, is what roasters are paid to do and what they love to do—roasting excellent coffee. 

"The roasters are not hired because they can move coffee really well.” Matt said. “They’re hired and work for us because they care so much about the product and will work so hard and roast these coffees so well and at such an expert level. And so that’s really where we want their focus to be."

Streamlining Pre-Roast Blending

Black and White does a lot of blending, not only for their year-round coffees but also for some of their high end coffee releases.

"And we’ve really found time and time again that preroast blending  is really the way for us and how we prefer to present our coffees.” Matt said. “And so the option of pre-blending on the Silo is really what pushed it over the edge for us, knowing that we can use the Precision Silo to blend all of our coffees and alleviate even more scooping."

The Precision Silo simplifies preroast blending by automating complex measurements and blending multiple coffees in precise proportions. "And so we’re able to choose which chamber we want to use, the percentage, and the final dose.” Matt said. “The Silo will do the math for us, spit out the right coffee, and dose all two, three, or four coffees into the cart for us for roasting."

This automation not only saves time but also ensures consistent blends, allowing roasters to focus on roasting. 

Making Coffee Roasting Accessible to All

Coffee roasting has historically been a male-dominated field. As this Perfect Daily Grind article points out—a woman has yet to win a World Coffee Roasting Championship. Although it’s clear that mentorship opportunities and representation are a large part of the problem, so is intense physical labor. And we know that green coffee bags take up a majority of this labor for coffee roasters. 

The Precision Silo levels the playing field, enabling anyone, regardless of stature or physical strength, to excel in roasting. This democratization is particularly meaningful in an industry striving to include more women. By reducing these barriers, the Silo supports a more inclusive and diverse workforce. 

A Solution to High Turnover Rates

A key benefit of making coffee roasting more accessible to a diverse range of individuals is the positive impact on hiring and retention—recruitment becomes easier, and employee turnover significantly decreases.

 Specialty coffee thrives on passion and expertise, but high turnover rates often disrupt this continuity. Many roasters leave the profession due to physical burnout or injury, depriving the industry of seasoned talent. The Precision Silo addresses this issue by enhancing workplace sustainability.

“This is going to give us staying power when it comes to training.” Kyle said. “Staffing a roastery is probably one of the hardest things that we deal with on a day-in and day-out basis."

By protecting employees from injury and burnout, the Silo fosters a culture of long-term commitment and satisfaction. 

Blake noted, "I can keep doing this as long as I want because I am able to move the coffee, and it doesn’t impact my quality of life. I go home, and I have so much more energy."

Prioritizing People Over Process

The Precision Silo embodies a philosophy of prioritizing human well-being over manual processes. By eliminating the need for repetitive and physically taxing tasks, it enables roasters to focus on their craft—creating exceptional coffee. 

This shift in focus has ripple effects on workplace culture. When employees feel valued and supported, their passion for the craft flourishes. 

As Matt succinctly put it, "Let’s take care of the house. Protect the people here, and watch that bleed outward to the people outside."

A Vision for the Future

The Precision Silo represents more than just an upgrade in equipment—it’s a commitment to redefining what’s possible in specialty coffee. By addressing the industry’s physical demands, promoting inclusivity, and reducing turnover, the Silo is paving the way for a healthier, more sustainable future.

For roasteries looking to scale without sacrificing employee well-being, the Precision Silo offers a powerful solution. 

As Kyle summarized, "As owners of businesses, we have choices we have to make. When we start thinking about the roasting facilities we design, we need to implement them in a way that is ethical. It’s not only about the coffee—we talk a lot about the ethicalness of the coffee that we're sourcing, and we want to make sure that the farmers get the money they need, and that the coffee is solid in a way that is transparent—that’s very important— But the people who are right in front of us sometimes miss that reality or they get skipped over. 

So everything that we can do as business owners, that makes not only the lives of our employees better, but happier, more fulfilled, easier on them, and just more sustainable long term, is necessary. And if we invest in the people and we invest the equipment that helps our people do better work, I think we'll see the payoff in the long run.”