On September 18, ADM joined local officials to celebrate the opening of its new, state-of-the-art flour mill in Mendota, IL. ADM leadership, as well as state officials, joined attendees at the opening, including representatives from Snack Food & Wholesale Bakery.

The Mendota facility is the largest flour mill ever built from the ground-up in North America.

“ADM has had a number of assets that serve Chicago and the surrounding marketplace, including northern Indiana, southern Wisconsin and some of Eastern Iowa” said Kevin Like, president, ADM Milling. “The inspiration for this new mill was the need to update old assets.”

The mill will continue to offer the same varieties of flour products to the industry as it has in the past, but with increased speed and efficiency.

Like noted that this collective Chicago-area market continues to grow from a consumption standpoint. “This is a large flour usage area, so ADM needed to build something new and state-of-the-art to better serve our customers’ growing needs in this area.”

The new, 30,000 cwts facility can mill spring, winter and soft wheat varieties, plus two types of whole wheat. The mill features:

• A loop track with 110-car shuttle rail unloading capacity
• Three milling units with centralized monitoring to ensure performance, consistency and security of supply
• Three bulk truck load-outs and rail load-out capability
• A high-speed packer and 30,000-square-foot warehouse
• A new lab with the most up-to-date quality-control equipment
• An onsite transportation company, including a truck wash and an advanced truck facility utilizing RFID technology to ensure efficiency and accuracy

“Our growth investment to design and build a cutting-edge production facility from the ground up highlights our commitment to growth for our customers, our shareholders and the state of Illinois,” said Like. “This high-tech mill offers unparalleled advantages, including the most up-to-date monitoring and quality-control equipment; swift and efficient packing and transportation options; and the ability to mill a wide array of wheat varieties to ensure we are meeting the needs of all of our customers across the Midwest.”

The Mendota, IL mill opening comes one year after ADM opened its modernized renovation of its Enid, OK mill.

“ADM has a long history of leading-edge innovation,” said Chris Cuddy, senior vice president, president, carbohydrate solutions, ADM. “We are committed to setting the standard for technological innovation in our industry, from our unparalleled food and beverage ingredient portfolio, to our array of probiotics and other health-supporting ingredient offerings, to our growth investments in efficient, sustainable production facilities like the one in Mendota.”

James Harper, Mendota mill manager, ADM Milling, noted that the facility can package 25- and 50-lb. bags of flour. Specialty flour products offered by the mill will include flour customized for cake, pastry, pizza, bagels and other bakery applications. ADM can work with wholesale bakers to develop custom blends.