PORT REDWING, FLORIDA, US — Ardent Mills has opened a new flour mill in the metropolitan Tampa area of Florida. The mill, with 17,500 cwts of daily milling capacity, replaces one the company has sold within the city of Tampa.

Built at a cost of over $100 million, the mill is in Port Redwing adjacent to the community of Gibsonton. Situated on a CSX rail line and at a port, the mill will be able to receive wheat by rail and ocean vessel. Outbound flour will be shipped by truck, generally within a two-hour radius from the mill.

The facility is set on a 10-acre property and features interconnected buildings, including a grain elevator, cleaning house and mill; a warehouse, mill mix bins; office and storage.

With two milling units, the Port Redwing mill produces all-purpose, whole wheat, high-gluten, cake and bread flours. The building has space to accommodate the later addition of a third milling unit.

Equipped by Bühler, Inc., Plymouth, Minnesota, US, Ardent Mills said the mill features several technological advances, including:

• Real-time data analysis and automation, including near-infrared grain analysis and automatic, high-speed packaging lines.
• Rapid line intervention and issue management, which allows for the production line to be stopped, assessed and, if needed, corrected with minimal downtime.

Other vendors for the project included Younglove Construction, SCA Construction, Ebmeier Engineering and Interstates. In addition to Bühler equipment, the mill features two high-speed Behn+Bates carousel packaging systems, made by Haver & Boecker, Oelde, Germany.

Grain storage capacity constructed alongside the mill totals 4.1 million bushels, making it one of the largest grain elevators of any US mill. The company said extra storage capacity is critically needed when “managing sudden supply chain shifts or in case of a natural disaster.”

“For five decades, Ardent Mills has enjoyed the privilege of being a part of the Tampa community and it’s been amazing to see the city grow and change,” said Dan Dye, chief executive officer of Ardent Mills. “We look forward to continuing to serve our customers and this robust community through our brand new, state-of-the-art Port Redwing Mill. This mill is a testament to our commitment to transform how the world is nourished and drive innovation across plant-based ingredients.”

Plans to sell the old Tampa mill, which had 14,500 cwts of production capacity, were announced in 2018.