Milling & Baking News - November 17, 2009 - 28

Milling Technology 

From high-tech to organic milling:
Dakota Prairie Organic expands
HARVEY, N.D. - Ribbon-cutting ceremonies were held Oct. 26 at a new
Dakota Prairie Organic Flour Co. flour
mill in Harvey. The mill, dedicated to
production of organic and gluten-free
flour and bakery mixes, has a daily
milling capacity of 5,000 cwts.
The new mill replaced the original
specialty unit with 700 cwts of daily capacity the company has operated since

Dakota Prairie Organic Flour Co. flour mill, Harvey, N.D.

it was established in October 2003 in
Harvey in north central North Dakota.
The company was founded by
brothers Grayson L. Hoberg and Eric
Hoberg. Grayson is chief executive officer and Eric is vice-president of sales
and marketing.
"We're strong believers in the organic market and the need for gluten-free
products," Grayson Hoberg said.
A native of North Dakota, Grayson Hoberg left a career in the hightech field to start-up a venture in
flour milling.

From 1997 until 2000, Mr. Hoberg
was chief financial officer and senior
vice-president of finance and administration at EarthLink, Inc., one of the
nation's largest Internet service providers. Later he was c.e.o. at United
Online, another I.S.P.
Equipment for the new mill was
supplied by Agrex S.p.A. of Italy. The
flour mill is 100% organic, and the

With the new Agrex mill behind them at Oct. 26 ribbon-cutting ceremonies were, from left,
Todd Lewis, Harvey, N.D., Chamber of Commerce; Aaron Krauter, North Dakota state director,
U.S. Department of Agriculture farm services; Jasper Schneider, North Dakota state director,
U.S.D.A. rural development; North Dakota Governor John Hoeven; Eric Hoberg, vice-president,
sales and marketing, Dakota Prairie Organic Flour; Grayson Hoberg, chief executive officer,
Dakota Prairie; Joe Yotti, program coordinator, Food Export Association of the Midwest; and
Tim Moore, office of Senator Kent Conrad, director of economic development.

gluten-free plant makes organic and
conventional product.
Gluten-free flours are milled at the
company from a vast array of grains
and other products, including amaranth, quinoa, millet, flax, sorghum,
lentils, rice, peas, beans, oats, tapioca,
teff and coconut.

Buhler launches high capacity
flaking mill for oilseeds industry
PLYMOUTH, MINN. - Buhler Inc.,
the North American subsidiary of Uzwil, Switzerland-based Buhler AG, has
launched a OLFB high-capacity flaking
mill for the oilseeds industry.
Buhler said the high-performance flaking mill is designed for the flaking of
cracked soybeans and soft oilseeds such as
sunflower, canola and corn germ. Flaking is
typically the final step of the oilseed preparation process. After flaking, the product
moves on to the oil extraction process.
According to Buhler, proper flaking of
the oilseed is critical to the efficiency of
the oil extraction process, as the microscopic oil cells of the seed are ruptured,
allowing the extraction media to penetrate the material.
28 / November 17, 2009 Milling & Baking News

The mill ships product bulk and in 50lb bags. Its product line includes 70 different kinds of flour and bakery mixes.
The facility has 1 million bus of
grain storage capacity, and is served
by the Canadian Pacific Railway. The
company has 25 employees.
In addition to domestic markets,
shipments to Hong Kong, China, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Singapore
and Peru account for a significant part
of the Dakota Prairie business.
"We aren't a six-day milling company," Mr. Hoberg said. "We're seven

The backbone of the OLFB flaking mill
consists of an A-shaped steel frame, and
an integrated feeding and mixing system allows even distribution of product
across the full length of the roll, increasing
throughput capacity, mill efficiency and
reducing roll maintenance, Buhler said.
Buhler said a new compact drive concept allows for high-capacity (up to 500
tons per 24 hours) with a single overhead
drive, while taking up 25% less plant
floor space. This is equivalent to 37 fewer
square feet per flaker than select competitive mills, the company said.
A sophisticated differential damping
system results in reduced drive system
drag and lower energy consumption,
lower vibration and quiet running of the

days a week, 365 days a year. We don't
shut down for Christmas or New Year's.
That's why we needed to expand."
Financing for the original mill
came from federal Rural Development loans. A new $7.4 million Rural Development loan helped finance
the expansion. MBN

mill. The use of high-grade, static-cast
rolls and a patented sealed roll end system reduces product leakage, abrasion
and residual oil in the extraction meal by
up to 15%. The OLFB flaking mill now
includes an integrated roll protection
system with permanent, yet easily cleanable, magnets that prevent metal particles
from contacting the rolls.
Buhler said the OLFB flaker was designed to allow faster, easier maintenance.
An integrated hydraulic unit, high-quality bearings and larger swing-away doors
allow easier access to all major mill components by maintenance personnel.
Fine adjustments may be made to the
flake thickness during full load operation,
Buhler said. Without shutting down the
mill, the flake thickness may be checked
and adjustments may be made on the fly,
increasing plant up-time and production
capacity utilization. MBN
bakingbusiness.com / world-grain.com

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Milling & Baking News - November 17, 2009

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