USA — American flour milling, and ingredient company Ardent Mills has strengthened its US operations with the opening of a new flour mill in the metropolitan Tampa area of Florida.  

The mill, built at a cost of over US$100 million replaces one the company has sold within the city of Tampa. 

It is set on a 10-acre property and features interconnected buildings, including a grain elevator, cleaning house and mill; a warehouse, mill mix bins; office and storage. 

With two milling units, the Port Redwing mill has a daily milling capacity of 17,500 hundredweights (cwts) and produces all-purpose, whole wheat, high-gluten, cake and bread flours.  

Equipped by Swiss technology group Bühler, Inc., the mill features several technological advances including near-infrared grain analysis and automatic, high-speed packaging lines. 

The mill also features rapid line intervention and issue management, which allows for the production line to be stopped, assessed, and, if needed, corrected with minimal downtime. 

Grain storage capacity constructed alongside the mill totals 4.1 million bushels, providing extra storage capacity is critically needed when “managing sudden supply chain shifts or in case of a natural disaster.” 

Ardent Mills said the facility’s strategic location on a CSX rail line and at a port facilitates easy reception of wheat by rail and ocean vessel. Outbound flour will be shipped by truck, generally within a two-hour radius from the mill. 

“For five decades, Ardent Mills has enjoyed the privilege of being a part of the Tampa community and it’s been amazing to see the city grow and change,” said Dan Dye, chief executive officer of Ardent Mills.  

“We look forward to continuing to serve our customers and this robust community through our brand new, state-of-the-art Port Redwing Mill. This mill is a testament to our commitment to transform how the world is nourished and drive innovation across plant-based ingredients.” 

Earlier, Ardent Mills appointed Manoj Rana as the new vice president of corporate and business development at Ardent Mills.  

He will work to align priorities, projects and strategic initiatives to enable growth for Ardent Mills and its customers.  

An emphasis will be placed on opportunities within the nutrition space, the company said in a statement. 

Rana has nearly 15 years of global experience. He previously worked at Tyson Foods, where he led corporate development initiatives, and at Deutsche Bank Consumer Investment banking group, where he advised corporate clients predominantly in the food sector.