World Grain - November 2022 - 43

being located near some of the most fertile farmland
in the world has proven to be a winning combination.
" Our location in North Dakota is key, " Taylor said
in a recent interview with World Grain. " North Dakota
spring wheat and durum is some of the best wheat in
the world and allows us to have the highest quality
flour out there. And we try to deliver that with the highest
level of customer service. We also have great employees.
North Dakotans have a great work ethic and
they have been a big part of our success story since
the beginning. "
North Dakota Mill is unique in several respects. It
is a state-owned business in a country that has thrived
on the idea of private ownership and capitalism since it
won independence from Britain in 1776. It is the only
state-owned flour mill in the United States.
While many of its privately owned and publicly traded
competitors in the United States have scattered their
flour production among a number of different milling
locations, North Dakota Mill produces all of its flour
and byproducts at one milling complex that is located
on 100 acres on the north side of Grand Forks.
The facility is mammoth, featuring 10 milling units
with total daily milling capacity of 60,500 cwts, having
added a 6,000-cwt durum unit and a 4,000-cwt spring
wheat unit this year. Its total daily production capacity
at the Grand Forks location is nearly double the size of
the country's next largest mill, Ardent Mills' plant in
Hastings, Minnesota, US, which has capacity to produce
35,260 cwts of flour per day.
Since Taylor became president and CEO in 2000,
milling capacity at the site has almost doubled.
" Growth has been key to our success in almost every
market segment, " said Taylor, who spent the first part
of his career with Conagra Milling. " Since 2000, we've
added spring wheat, durum and whole wheat milling
capacity mainly driven by increasing demand from existing
customers. We have been able to fill new capacity
fairly quickly as it has been built. "
After commissioning the " H " and " I " milling units
earlier this year, North Dakota Mill began another expansion
project to increase feed storage capacity that
will be completed in the coming months.
Delivering coast to coast
While most new milling capacity in the United States in
the 21st century has been added closer to customer bases
near large population centers, North Dakota Mill has
bucked that trend by expanding at its sole location near
its wheat growers, far away from most of its customers.
" We deliver flour coast to coast, but mostly east of the
Rocky Mountains, " Taylor said. " One of our main areas is
in and around New York City. We do a lot of business in
the northeastern US and the Ohio River Valley. "
World-Grain.com / World Grain / November 2022
North Dakota Mill's
latest expansion project
Expanding daily production capacity
has been a seemingly never-ending
process since Vance Taylor took over
as president and chief executive officer
of North Dakota Mill in 2000.
During those 22 years, Grand Forks,
North Dakota, US-based North Dakota
Mill has added more than 28,000 cwts
of daily milling capacity, essentially
doubling its size during that time.
The most recent completed expansion
involved construction of the H mill,
for durum wheat processing, which has
a capacity of 360 tpd, and the I mill,
for hard wheat, which has a capacity of
250 tpd.
Also, the existing 250-tpd D mill was
converted from a durum wheat to hard
wheat line, with an increase in capacity
and the integration of the latest machines
from Italian flour milling equipment
manufacturer Ocrim SpA.
Taylor said particular attention was
paid to sanitation in the H and I mills
as it included the installation of all the
process machines, the pneumatic system
and the pipes in stainless steel.
In both mills, cutting-edge cleaning
technology was installed, including the
latest generation color sorters.
All three mills will see energy savings
through the installation of innovative
systems that allow for considerable energy
optimization, Ocrim said.
" We have chosen Ocrim because it
has always proved to be a loyal and
supportive partner, " Taylor said. " We
demanded very short delivery times
and Ocrim accepted this challenge,
precisely because it is aware of its organizational,
management and strategic
skills, which are already put to the
test even in this severe pademic period.
" Together
we have already tackled
many challenges and we, at North Dakota
Mill, are excited to 'walk the Italian
way' again. "
43
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World Grain - November 2022

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