NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA, U.S. — Dan Dye, chief executive officer, and Bill Stoufer, chief operating officer and chief integration officer, of Denver, Colorado, U.S.-based Ardent Mills, took time at the Institute of Food Technologists (IFT) 14 Annual Meeting + Food Expo in New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S., to talk about the company’s new vision for serving the grain-based foods industry.

“Bringing the companies together enables us to do more for our customers than we could on our own,” Dye said.

With the company’s creation less than a month ago, Dye and Stoufer noted that IFT represents an excellent opportunity for the newly formed Ardent to talk to an audience of food designers and key decisions makers.

The company said its goal is to “Nourish What’s Next” through its wide-ranging capabilities and expertise, innovative grain-based ingredients and solutions, and its extensive network of 40 community mills, 3 bakery mix facilities and a specialty bakery, all of which will enable food companies to connect to the consumer marketplace like never before. Ardent Mills represents a combination of the flour milling assets of Cargill, ConAgra Mills and CHS, Inc.

Dye and Stoufer said the company’s decision to locate its headquarters in Denver was in part because of the state of Colorado’s healthy lifestyle, which fits with Ardent’s own philosophy.

The company also introduced its new Ardent Mills Mobile Innovation Center — a fully functional bakery, culinary kitchen and meeting space designed to deliver on-site culinary and R.&D. creativity, consumer insights and technical and application support to customers at their front door. The Mobile Innovation Center allows companies to work side-by-side with Ardent Mills’ chefs, food scientists and technical bakers to learn how the Ardent Mills portfolio of ingredients and services can help turn their next great idea into reality. The Mobile Innovation Center is a converted NASCAR truck. It features two levels with plenty of storage that allows Ardent the flexibility to change out equipment to fit the needs of the customer or community event at which it is located.

Ardent said the Mobile Innovation Center’s primary goal and focus is engagement with customers and the community. Ardent is actively planning a tour schedule for the fall of 2014.