Charles Saladin Mechanizes Pneumatic Malting

In 1881, French engineer Charles Saladin developed a pneumatic malting box that combined controlled aeration with mechanical turning. Earlier pneumatic systems, including those associated with Nicolas Galland, had allowed conditioned air to pass through deeper beds of germinating barley, but workers still needed to turn the grain manually to prevent the rootlets from becoming entangled. Saladin added mechanically driven vertical screws mounted on a traveling frame. As the frame moved along the box, the rotating screws lifted and mixed the germinating barley while air passed through the perforated floor beneath it. The system reduced manual labor, allowed larger and deeper grain beds, and improved control over temperature and germination. Saladin boxes became an important basis for modern industrial malting and helped replace traditional floor malting in many large maltings during the twentieth century.