Star of the West acquired the Quincy mill in 1979, and state it's the oldest running flour mill in Michigan on Facebook. Image courtesy of Star of the West.
One of Michigan's largest flour millers, Star of the West Milling Co., has announced that it will be ceasing milling operations at its Quincy, MI location, which has been in operation since 1979.
The mill will be closed by January 1, 2026. According to Star of the West, the closure will affect about 15 employees, who have already been offered job opportunities at Star of the West's other mills in Ligonier, Indiana, and Frankenmuth, Michigan. Star of the West also has mills in Willard, Ohio (12,250 cwts), Frankenmuth (7,400 cwts), Michigan, and Churchville, New York (5,600 cwts).
A company spokesperson shared that wheat flower demand has flattened in recent years, and that the age and lower production capacity of the facility contributed to the decision to close the mill.
The Quincy closure comes two years after Star of the West announced expansion plans for milling capacity in Ligonier, where their facility can currently mull 20,000 cwts of soft, hard, and pathogen mitigated flour per day.
The company stated that closing the Quincy plant will lower their overall milling capacity to 45,250 cwts, which will drop Star of the West to 10th among the largest milling companies. The grain elevator in Quincy will continue to operate despite the closure and will receive local soft red winter wheat.
Earlier this year, Star of the West Flour Milling Division President Mike Fassezke explained how U.S. tariffs on Canada had negatively affected the company, emphasizing their loss of a major Canadian cereal client. Fassezke continued to share that roughly 85% of milled oats in the U.S. come from Canada, and worried that tariffs could "cripple" Star of the West's national trade association, the North American Millers Association. Despite this, Fassezke stated that tariffs were not a factor in the closure of the Quincy plant.
He went on to warn that millers will have to pass costs down to remain in business, emphasizing the low-margin nature of the milling industry.
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