CHICAGO — Archer Daniels Midland Co. (ADM) announced it is constructing a new flour mill in Mendota, Ill. The high-capacity, modern facility will allow the company to continue to meet growing demand for flour throughout the Midwest.
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| Mark Kolkhorst, president of ADM Milling |
“ADM’s new facility in Mendota will help us provide additional capabilities to meet ongoing demand growth in the Midwest, where we are seeing bakers expand their production capabilities,” said Mark L. Kolkhorst, president of ADM Milling. “In addition, our new mill will enable us to drive efficiencies, thanks to the use of new technologies and equipment, and the ability to leverage capabilities of ADM’s existing grain facility in Mendota — such as unloading 110-car shuttle trains. We are pleased to expand our presence in Mendota and continue investing in Illinois.”
The new facility will have a daily milling capacity of 30,000 cwts, and the ability to grind soft and hard wheat varieties. ADM said it expects to begin operations in mid-2019. When it is fully operational, ADM intends to end production at its current wheat mill in Chicago.
According to the 2017 Grain & Milling Annual, ADM Milling’s Chicago mill has a capacity of 13,700 cwts. The company’s total U.S. wheat flour capacity is 286,900 cwts and it currently has 23 mills in the United States.
During the last two years, ADM has announced projects totaling more than $250 million in the state of Illinois, including the Mendota flour mill, new Animal Nutrition production facilities in Effingham and Quincy, and the company’s partnership with DuPont Industrial Biosciences to produce furan dicarboxylic methyl ester (FDME) from fructose.
“We are continuing to create shareholder value by expanding strategically and driving operational efficiencies,” Mr. Kolkhorst said. “We are excited about this important investment, and committed to meeting our goals to deliver value for customers and shareholders alike.”
ADM Milling is one of the world’s largest flour millers, with multiple wheat flour mills in the United States as well as in Canada, the Caribbean, Central America and the United Kingdom.
The announcement is the latest in a series of expansions for ADM in the past few months. In May, the company finished a series of expansions at its export terminal in Santos, in the Brazilian state of São Paulo. The project added a second ship loading line and a fourth truck unloading station, allowing for more efficient operations.
Also in May, the company reached an agreement to purchase a controlling interest in Industries Centers, an Israeli company specializing in the import and distribution of agricultural feed products. The transaction is subject to regulatory approval in Israel. ADM anticipates completing the deal in the coming months.
In late March, the company began talks to acquire Chamtor, a French producer of wheat-based sweeteners and starches. The transaction is expected to close by this summer.
