RiceBran Technologies will significantly expand capacity at its MGI Grain Inc. facility in East Grand Forks, MN.
The expansion is expected to double the capacity of the pearling mill, enabling RiceBran to meet growing demand for North American-sourced, grain-based ingredients and with a minimal capital investment and a limited increase in labor.
Expansion plans
The project will replace one of the mill's main grain dehullers with a new dehuller/pearler; more than doubling the plant's production capacity.
In addition to the new huller, MGI will support increased throughput and quality with the addition of a color sorter, as well as enhancements to the mill's grain receiving, cleaning and conveyance systems.
The project will be designed to minimize disruption to the mill's daily operations. The updates, which totaled less than $500,000, are expected to be completed in mid-summer 2022.
Increasing volume and flexibility
These upgrades will allow RiceBran to finally leverage MGI's true potential expanding volume and process flexibility while enhancing product quality, said MGI Business Lead Kevin Pray.
"This will allow us to double the capacity of the pearling mill within the same building footprint, giving us the ability to meet increasing customer demands while navigating a tight labor market, with only a modest capital investment," said Pray.
RiceBran Chairman Peter Bradley noted the demand for regionally-sourced ingredients and agricultural products is soaring given the uncertainty of the geopolitical environment and challenges in the global supply chain.
"We are able to respond," said Bradley. "Not only does MGI provide RiceBran with strategic options in the long-term as a source of new feedstocks for our high value ingredient business, this small investment in significant incremental capacity provides us with a unique opportunity to capitalize on the current macro-environment."
RiceBran Technologies is a specialty ingredient company focused on the development, production, and marketing of products derived from traditional and ancient small grains.
