Milling & Baking News - May 21, 2019 - 10

Business

Eyeing demand trends, Ardent Mills
says it will close four flour mills

ARDENT MILLS

Mr. Dye said. "Our dedicated team
is committed to working closely with
customers, farmers and suppliers, and
bringing innovation to the market
Continued from Page 1
three mills in addition to Rush City - with strategic moves like the introducmill principally grinds spring wheat and in Hastings, Lake City and Mankato. tion of The Annex by Ardent Mills.
durum. The company said it is assisting In Ohio, the company operates one The future of grain-based solutions is
employees affected by the closings with mill in addition to Loudonville - in filled with opportunities."
The Ardent Mills news followed by
placement efforts at other Ardent Mills Columbus. In Pennsylvania, Ardent
about two weeks an ADM Milllocations, career support and ading Co. announcement that it
ditional transitional assistance.
would close flour mills in SaDaniel P. Dye, chief executive
lina, Kas., and Minneapolis.
officer of Ardent Mills, said the
Like the ADM mills, the Arcompany is committed to condent Mills mills to be closed
tinuing to operate and investare rich in history. In the case
ing in its other 35 flour mills in
of the Ohio mill, the closing
the United States, Canada and
will end flour milling in LoudPuerto Rico.
onville that began less than 60
"These decisions are difficult,
years after the republic was
especially because of the impact
established. The 1835 mill
on our valued team members,"
there operated until it was
Mr. Dye said. "However, this is
destroyed by fire in 1922 and
a critical step to put greater fowas replaced by the mill curcus and investment on the rest
rently in operation.
of our plants. Our growth plan
The Rush City location
calls for strategic investments Rush City, Minn., is one of four mills Ardent Mills plans to close.
was the first mill acquired by
in our unmatched network of
Farmers' Union Grain Termicommunity mills; these changes allow us to grow accordingly and Mills operates three mills in addi- nal Association, a predecessor coopbetter meet customer needs."
tion to Red Lion - in Martins Creek, erative to CHS, Inc. G.T.A. purchased
Amber Milling in 1942. The mill was
The Macon mill is Ardent Mills' Mount Pocono and York.
only facility in Georgia, but the comWilliam Stoufer, president of Ardent built in 1910 and converted to a dupany operates three other mills in the Mills, said customers of the mills that rum mill in 1926.
The mill in Macon was established
Southeast - in Decatur, Ala.; Tampa, will close will be transitioned to other
in 1913 as a 150-cwt facility operating
Fla.; and Chattanooga, Tenn. Ardent Ardent Mills facilities.
Mills will be building a new flour mill
Notwithstanding the weak flour de- as Birdsey Flour Mills.
Ardent Mills is a joint venture of
in Tampa but has not yet announced mand outlook, Mr. Dye expressed opConagra Brands, Inc.; Cargill and
how large the mill will be. It is replac- timism about the milling market.
ing a mill in Tampa with 14,500 cwts
"Ardent Mills' vision and values CHS. Conagra and Cargill each own
of daily milling capacity.
remain the foundation of our orga- 44% stakes in the company with CHS
In Minnesota, Ardent Mills operates nization and will carry us forward," owning the remaining 12%. MBN

McKee Foods buys Illinois-based
sweet goods baking company
CHATTANOOGA, TENN. - McKee
Foods Corp. has acquired Prairie City
Bakery, a Vernon Hills, Ill.-based provider of fully-baked, thaw-and-sell
bakery solutions for the convenience
store, food service and in-story bakery
channels. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
Prairie City Bakery was co-founded
in 1994 by Bill Skeens, the company's
current chief executive officer. The
company started with one product
- muffin tops. In mid-1997, Prairie
City Bakery got a boost when an episode of the television show "Seinfeld"
aired that made muffin tops instantly
famous. In the episode, Elaine Benes
tells her former boss that she only
eats the tops of muffins and suggests
10 / May 21, 2019

Milling & Baking News

the idea to open a store that sells muffin tops only. The boss steals the idea,
launching a business called Top of the
Muffin to You! Additional hilarity ensues. And the marketing gods smiled
down on Prairie City.
"What I had been trying to do for
six years, 'Seinfeld' did overnight,"
Mr. Skeens told bake, a sister publication of Milling & Baking News, during
an April 2018 interview.
Today, Prairie City Bakery offers 125
varieties of individually-wrapped and
bulk food service products, including
cinnamon rolls, Danish, cookies, donuts, donut holes in a cup, brownies
and Ooey Gooey Butter Cakes.
"We sought to acquire Prairie City
Bakery because they built a great

brand with quality, innovative products that satisfy specific retail customer needs," said Mike McKee, president
and c.e.o. of McKee Foods. "We want
to continue that success by following
the same great strategy with the same
great management team. We are excited to continue building on this success. We welcome Prairie City Bakery
to the McKee Foods family of brands."
McKee Foods said it will continue to
use the Prairie City Bakery brand name
and the company's existing distribution
channels. Additionally, the company will
retain all Prairie City Bakery employees
and existing Vernon Hills offices.
"I believe Prairie City Bakery is a perfect fit for McKee Foods," Mr. Skeens
said. "They share the same values regarding their commitment to quality
products, serving their customers and
supporting all the good people who
support and work for McKee Foods." MBN
bakingbusiness.com / world-grain.com

http://www.bakingbusiness.com http://www.world-grain.com

Milling & Baking News - May 21, 2019

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Milling & Baking News - May 21, 2019