USA – Archer Daniels Midland Co. has announced plans to stop production at one of its two Minneapolis flour mills as well as its flour mill in Salina, Kansas, U.S. as part of the business realignment strategy.

The company has said that it also plans to end production at its wheat mill in Chicago when it opens another wheat mill in Chicago later this year.

According to World Grain, the three mills slated for closing have combined daily milling capacity of 28,700 cwts (13,700 cwts in Chicago, 9,000 in Minneapolis and 6,000 in Salina).

Their total capacity equals to almost exactly 10% of the company’s U.S. flour milling capacity of 284,900 cwts.

The Salina facility began operations in 1899 and was acquired by ADM in 1970.

The Chicago mill was built in the 1890s by Eckhart Milling Co., a business established in the 1870s by Bernard A. Eckhart, was later acquired by Dixie-Portland Flour Mills, which was acquired by ADM in 1989.

Both the Nokomis and Atkinson mills of ADM mills were built in 1910s, according to World Grain.

New, high-capacity mill in Illinois

ADM has also said that it set to open a new high-capacity mill in Mendota, Illinois.

The Mendota facility, which will have the ability to grind soft and hard wheat varieties and to unload 110-car shuttle trains, is on target to open in the second half of 2019.

The facility will have a daily milling capacity of 30,000 cwts.

ADM noted that Mendota was key on its growth investments line-up as it looks to strengthen the its core business and establish leadership in global nutrition.

“We are continuing to see strong demand for flour in the Midwest, and the changes we are announcing today, along with the opening of our new, state-of-the-art mill in Mendota later this year, will perfectly position ADM Milling to meet customer needs throughout the region,” said Chris Cuddy, president of ADM’s Carbohydrate Solutions business.

“The three facilities we are closing in Minnesota, Kansas and Illinois are all more than a century old, and despite the great work of our teams in each location, the age of those mills significantly constrains our operations.

“The growth investment we’ve made in our new Mendota facility will offer the efficiency, variety and flexibility that our customers deserve, and this realignment will ensure both we and our customers harvest the full benefits of that investment.”

The company said it is investing in improvements at Atkinson mill in Minneapolis which will continue to operate.

Last year, ADM inaugurated its modernized flour mill in Enid, Okla as part of the modernization project.

This comes after ADM announced plans to relocate milling sales and commercial teams to North American headquarters, amidst job cuts.