World Grain - January 2019 - 64

FEATURE: MILLING MODEL FOR A NEW CENTURY

The early 2018
acquisition of
Viobin USA helped
Panhandle gain a
leadership position
in the wheat
germ market.
Photo courtesy of
Panhandle Milling.

and other trendy ingredients, wheat germ may seem
downright old-fashioned. The PHM executives could
not disagree more vigorously.
"When you look at wheat germ, it is a nutritional
powerhouse," Bisaccia said.
Two acquisitions were completed within a few weeks
of one another in the spring of 2018 and included buying Viobin LLC, a Monticello, Illinois, U.S., producer
of defatted wheat germ and specialty oils, and a wheat
germ plant in Michigan City, Indiana, U.S.
For its wheat germ product facilities, the company
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"We'll extract oil, and we end up with two core
products - wheat germ oil and de-fatted wheat germ,"
Mason said. The wheat germ oil is incorporated into
many products that PHM offers.
The wheat germ is toasted and ground into various granulations for a wide range of applications.
Removing the fat extends the shelf life of wheat germ.
"It goes into cereals, snacks," Devey said. "For example, it all allows you to extend products like cocoa,
without having to pay like the high price of cocoa.
Instead you add some de-fatted wheat germ in there -
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"The customers talked, and
we listened. We've added
packaging capability based
on customer demand."
Peter Bisaccia, Panhandle Milling
64

Ledgerwood, another PHM partner, emphasized
wheat germ's nutrition credentials.
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protein," he said. "It's high in mineral content. It's nonGMO. It's vegan."
While it has been a popular health food ingredient
for decades, in recent years word-of-mouth rather than
dedicated selling has been how wheat germ has been
marketed, Mason said. He predicted the product will
respond well to renewed and focused attention.
That go-to market strategy will be assisted by
Elizabeth Arndt, director of research and development.
"She is probably one of the leading experts on
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said. "We will tap into her expertise as we expand into
this market."
ENTREPRENEURIAL CULTURE
In addition to its wheat germ business, Viobin has a
stand-alone facility with grinding capabilities that is
gluten-free.
"We've already seen the fruits of that grinding capability," Bisaccia said. "We're in a two-year agreement
with someone who wants ancient grains to go through
that facility."
A second mix facility and additional packing equipment will be added at Michigan City, Mason said. The
packing capabilities will allow PHM to offer its distilling and brewing services from the Indiana location.
The 17-acre site at Michigan City gives the company
the ability to expand there.
"In order to blanket the country now, Michigan City
is our next phase," he said. Michigan City is about a
one-hour drive from Chicago.
In June 2018, Panhandle acquired a grain elevator in
January 2019 / World Grain / www.World-Grain.com

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