Minot Milling Completes Expansion Projects Amid COVID-19 Challenges
Photo credit: Philadelphia Macaroni Company
Minot, ND — Like all manufacturers, Minot Milling has faced many challenges over the past year to maintain service levels during the pandemic, the company noted in an Aug. 24 post to its What's Cooking blog.
"Our employees followed strict COVID-19 protocols to establish a safe work environment – in turn, allowing Minot Milling to sustain a stable labor force, meet production goals, and supply our customers with semolina and other flour without interruptions," the company said.
While operating under pandemic restrictions, the Mill management team and employees not only kept the Mill running efficiently, but also completed two major capital projects.
"The first project was renovation of one of our mills, which now has the flexibility to swing between durum and spring wheat flour," the company said.
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This gives Minot Milling additional durum capacity to satisfy higher demand due to Philadelphia Macaroni Co.'s (PMC) acquisition of Zerega. Minot Milling was founded by PMC in 1998.
Besides creating swing flexibility, the new mill was retrofitted with a debranner, which promotes higher quality flour by removing impurities that may be present on the outer bran coat.
The second project was the installation of an additional grain receiving system, with a new automated truck scale.
These improvements double the grain elevator’s unloading capacity and promote better grower relations by minimizing unloading time.
"As we move into a new crop year, the industry is already feeling the effects of the severe drought conditions in the Northern Plains – where a majority of the durum wheat is grown," the company noted.
"As predicted, total 2021 durum production in both the U.S. and Canada is estimated to be less than 160 million bushels vs 308 million bushels last year.
"No question, record low durum production along with low carryover inventories will make supply tight and values high. And with our recent facility improvements, we have hit the ground running to face this industry challenge."
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