Construction begins on Miller Milling innovation and technical center

BLOOMINGTON, MINN. — Miller Milling Co. begun construction on its Innovation and Technical Center in Saginaw, Texas, where it will serve all five of the company’s US mills, two of sister company Rogers Foods’ mills in Canada and be available for use by its customers.

The center will enable the testing and analysis of baking processes from grain to baked foods across a wide range of flours and products. It will include a small-scale mill that can replicate the grain production of the company’s large mills and a full bakery that will greatly enhance the company’s customer offerings, according to Miller Milling.

“Adding the Innovation and Technical Center allows us to gather valuable data about our products and bring more proactive solutions to our customers, whether they purchase by the bag or in bulk,” said Kevin Sebby, vice president of sales and marketing for Miller Milling.

Customers also will be able to gain expert advice and insight into product development through in- house testing and opportunities for production improvements, the company said.

“Being able to own these processes in-house lets us bring tangible benefits to both our mills and our customers,” Sebby said. “We’ll be able to have timely data for the mills and bring more support to our customers of all sizes, testing flours used and doing everything from troubleshooting to baking up a wide variety of products on site. One good example is the rise of products using the process of regenerative agriculture. If we’re introducing a flour or a product to a customer, we can bring them in, bake the products, and show results against a conventional product.”

Frank Dale Construction of Southlake, Texas, is leading the project, which got underway with a Dec. 18 groundbreaking. The building is scheduled to be completed in late 2024.

Miller Milling also is expanding its Saginaw flour mill, which will increase the plant’s daily capacity by 10,000 cwts. The increase will make the mill the third largest in the United States at 34,000 cwts of daily flour production capacity. The expansion, announced in March 2023, is expected to be completed late this year or early 2025.

Established in 1985, Miller Milling is a fully owned subsidiary of Japan’s largest flour miller, Tokyo-based Nisshin Flour Milling Inc., which operates mills in Asia, North America and Oceania. At 90,500 cwts of daily flour milling capacity with five mills, Miller Milling is the fifth-largest milling company in the United States as listed in Sosland Publishing Co.’s 2024 Grain & Milling Annual.