SALINA, KANSAS, U.S. — Research Products Company was founded in 1946 as an operating division within McShares Inc. offering standard-setting flour oxidation and maturing services, vitamin/mineral premixes, micro-ingredient dispensing systems, and on-site field servicing. Recently, the company decided to rebrand in an effort to recommit itself to its diversifying customer base.
REPCO is the name Research Products used for its milling products and a majority of its customers identified and referred to Research Products as REPCO.
“We wanted to recommunicate our commitment to all our customers of the value of added ingredients, products and services we offer,” said Monte White, president and CEO of McShares. “This encouraged us to modernize our company logo, shorten our name to REPCO and revamp our website to reflect the acquisitions made and the spectrum of industries we serve.”
REPCO primarily works with customers based in North America. The company does have a partnership with Engrain, which handles all technology development and sales outside of North America. Engrain has offices in Mexico, Chile, Switzerland, Kenya and the Philippines.
The company also expanded last year with the acquisition of Brandywine Ingredient Technology. Brandywine develops and sells specialty technical ingredients for the baking industry. The acquisition of Brandywine accelerated REPCO’s growth in its bakery business by offering improved service, product quality assurance, research and development, purchasing power and has enabled more technical service.
“Every product and service we offer is of upmost importance to each and every customer we serve,” White said. “We believe that our customers deserve not only the best product on the market, but the best service. Our customer service, quality control, technical service team and superior products make us a global leader in the industry.”
In order to stay up to date on recent trends in the milling and baking industries, REPCO uses an experienced technical team to provide analytical service, evaluate flour nutrition levels, stay current with additive technology, regulatory compliance and meet on site for consulting and technical needs.
REPCO also creates custom products for customers and many of the new products are around clean label solutions and enzyme products.
“Our bakery division has recently introduced a complete line of chemical and GMO free dough conditioners for conventional and artisan breads, bread bases and an organic line or product,” White said. “With its’ volMAX technology, Engrain has specialized in assisting global flour millers to minimize their raw material input costs by providing ingredient solutions that optimize the baking performance of lower cost wheat sources.”
REPCO currently employs 75 people in its office, fabrication shop and manufacturing plant.
“We want to grow our business in a responsible and sustainable way, and this will require additional skilled people in our type of business,” White said.
The company plans to officially celebrate its 70 years of business in July with its employees.