Milling & Baking News - May 3, 2022 - 36

TUES | 05 03 2022
Standout features highlight
Ardent Mills' Tampa facility
I
n deciding how to construct a new
flour mill, the first since the company
was established in 2014, Ardent
Mills, LLC was determined to build a
" differentiated, world-class facility, " said
Steve Neely, plant manager of the Port
Redwing, Fla., mill.
More than just the newest flour mill in
the United States, the facility built along
the Gulf coast in metropolitan Tampa,
Fla., has several details that set it apart,
Mr. Neely said. Advanced analytics,
state-of-the-art equipment, unusually
large grain storage capacity and unique
supply chain capabilities are among the
mill's distinguishing features.
" It is a state-of-the-art mill, but the
facility has other nuances that set it
apart, " Mr. Neely said. " One is having the
opportunity to bring in both ocean vessels
and shuttle trains. "
A single ocean vessel has the capacity
to deliver 800,000 to 1 million bus of
wheat to a flour mill, more than double
the 400,000 to 420,000 bus an 110+-car
unit train can hold. The mill has CSX
Transportation rail service.
" The ability to unload wheat either
from unit trains or ocean vessels provides
supply chain flexibility, " Mr. Neely said.
For deciding what features should be
incorporated into the Port Redwing mill,
Ardent Mills tapped deep into wells of
expertise across the organization, he
said. Participants in a planning process
included the company's senior director
of engineering, senior director of quality,
food safety and continuous improvement,
tech milling and the company's
36
MILLING & BAKING NEWS
" If you're on the sixth floor and you're having a
problem on another floor, and the control room is
on the second floor, you are still able to correct
the issue real time from wherever you are. "
- Steve Neely, Ardent Mills, LLC
Port Redwing mill, with 4.1 million bus of
storage capacity. The elevator may be the
largest ever built concurrent with the construction
of a US flour mill and, according
to the 2022 Grain & Milling Annual published
by Sosland Publishing Co., it is the
sixth largest elevator of any US flour mill
currently operating. The concrete elevator
includes 12, 50-foot-concrete bins with
300,000 bus of grain storage apiece as well
as a number of smaller grain bins.
The flour mill replaces one operated in
Tampa by Ardent Mills and before that
(mechanical installation); Ebmeier Engineering
(engineering and design); and
Interstates (electrical and programming).
All grades of flour milled at the old
Tampa facility will be produced at Port
Redwing. In addition, the new mill has
the capacity to grind soft wheat - milling
cake flour and pastry flour.
Hard winter, soft red winter and hard
red spring are binned by class with
wheat blended into mixes based on customer
specifications.
The mill features two units - an A mill
bakingbusiness.com
lead elevator director.
" All of them gave input about what
they want for the mill of the future and
were part of the original design, " Mr.
Neely said. " That's what led to this level
of automation that no other mill has. "
At 17,500 cwts of daily flour milling
capacity, the Port Redwing mill is not
Ardent Mills' largest (its Hastings, Minn.,
mill is, at 35,250 cwts) and is not among
the 25 largest flour mills in the United
States. With the capacity to receive large
quantities of wheat, though, Ardent Mills
constructed a large grain elevator at the
Conagra Brands, Inc. (a partner in Ardent
Mills with Cargill and CHS, Inc.) for 50
years. The new mill is situated about 15
miles from the old one, to the south along
Tampa Bay. Located within the city limits
of Gibsonton, Port Redwing is part of a
134-acre peninsula. Ardent Mills leased a
10-acre tract for its facilities.
The mill was equipped by Bühler
Group, which provided technical equipment
incorporation and startup. Other
partners were Younglove Construction
- contractor, (all building structures
and concrete work); SCA Construction
MILLING technology
ARDENT MILLS
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Milling & Baking News - May 3, 2022

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