Author: Tony Gaertner

Miller Milling growing footprint in Texas market

On April 2, Joe Girdner, CEO of Miller Milling Co., warmly welcomed nearly 130 attending guests, at the grand opening ceremony of Miller Milling Company’s new D – Mill and Innovation and Technical Center in Saginaw, TX.

Girdner, who assumed the role of Miller Milling’s CEO in 2022, has a unique perspective on the North American flour milling market. In addition to serving as Miller Milling’s CEO, he continues to serve as president of Miller Milling’s sister company, Rogers Foods Ltd., a position he has held since 2017.

“As we continue to grow with our customers, the expansion of our mill and the establishment of our new Innovation and Technical Center are pivotal steps in meeting the increasing demand in the North American market. This investment underscores our commitment to customer intimacy, ensuring we deliver the finest products and uphold our ‘Quality First’ promise. By enhancing our capabilities, we are better positioned to innovate and provide unparalleled service to our valued customers.” – Joe Girdner, CEO

The multi-year expansion project at Miller Milling’s Saginaw, TX mill increases daily flour production capacity by 40%, from 24,000 cwts to 34,000 cwts. This makes Saginaw the largest of Miller Milling’s five facilities, and the 3rd largest in the country. In addition, upgrades to packaging and other equipment will allow the Saginaw facility to expand its product offerings in order to meet current and future customer needs.

“Miller Milling’s expansion of its Saginaw, Texas mill is a strategic move to meet the rising demand for flour in the region. This investment not only enhances our production capacity but also strengthens our commitment to supporting our growing customer base in Texas.” – Kevin Sebby, VP Sales

Miller Milling simultaneously celebrated the opening of its new Innovation and Technical Center. Located next to the Saginaw mill, the Innovation and Technical Center will support customers by testing and analyzing every stage of the baking process from raw grain to finished baked goods, across a wide range of flours and finished products.

“The ITC enhances customer collaboration by providing a dedicated space for co-creation and problem-solving, driving mutual growth and success. The ITC provides a central location for quality testing, ensuring that Miller Milling consistently delivers top-tier products to its customers.” – Marco Hernandez, Director Technical Sales

About the Miller Milling’s Saginaw, TX Mill

The mill, which was built in 1999 as a partnership of Farmland Industries Inc., Bay State Milling Co., and an Oklahoma regional cooperative, then sold to ConAgra Mills in 2008 before Miller Milling purchased it in 2014. During that time, it has been expanded numerous times – from 6,000 cwts in 2008 to its current 34,000 cwts.

About Miller Milling

Founded in Minneapolis in 1985, Miller Milling is a leader in the milling industry and operates five strategically located facilities across the country. Miller Milling joined Nisshin Seifun Group in 2012. The company is a full-service milling resource that prides itself on its commitment to customer service and unparalleled attention to detail. Given its strength, service, and diversity of products, customers have come to expect Miller Milling as a long-term partner and resource. Learn more at www.millermilling.com.

About Nisshin Seifun Group

Founded in Japan in 1900, the Nisshin Seifun Group has become that country’s largest flour milling company and has diversified into a wide range of business areas. It operates flour mills in Asia, North America, and Oceania. As a globally expanding business, the Nisshin Seifun Group helps to enhance people’s lives by supporting healthy lifestyles and building food infrastructure. Learn more at www.nisshin.com/english.

In front of the Innovation and Technical Center in Saginaw, Texas, from left to right: Eric Knott – Miller Milling, Jeff Hole – Miller Milling, Yu Nagaki – Nisshin Flour Milling, Inc., Joe Girdner – Miller Milling, Takao Yamada – Nisshin Flour Milling, Inc., Mayor Todd Flippo – Saginaw, Ricky Kishida – Miller Milling, Ben Oertel – Miller Milling, and Mayor Pro Tem Paul Felegy – Saginaw.

 

 

This year was Miller Milling’s second annual Sustainability Week! The week was a success due to the engagement of every team across the company. Thank you to everyone who participated! This year’s theme was Educate, Communicate, and Act with the various activities of the week being aligned with one or more of the topics.

Sustainability Week Calls Recap

Kickoff Call

The week started out on Monday with a Kick-off call in which the company heard from Joe Girdner, CEO and Seichiro Takahashi, Nisshin Executive Officer of Environment about the importance of sustainability at Miller Milling and beyond at Nisshin Seifun Group. The company then welcomed Sarah Beth Aubrey, a special guest speaker of the week. Sarah Beth highlighted the importance of aligning the ESG strategy at Miller Milling with the company values of Safety, Service, Accountability, and Collaboration. She also spoke about the risks and benefits of incorporating sustainability into the company’s culture and strategy.

Regenerative Ag Call

On Thursday, we had the pleasure of hearing from the Director of Sustainability at Scoular, Beth Stebbins. Scoular is one of Miller Milling’s important wheat suppliers that we started a Regenerative Ag Partnership with this year. Beth gave the company an informative landscape of regenerative agriculture, how it supports sustainability goals across the entire supply chain, and shared details about our program.

Sustainability Highlights Call

To wrap up the week on Friday, the company had the opportunity to hear from the Plant Sustainability Teams about their volunteer efforts from the year along with their most successful sustainability projects. The company was successful in completing 845 hours of community service collectively, showing each location’s commitment to their local communities. Additionally, the Plants identified and implemented several sustainable solutions at the mills ranging from eliminating Styrofoam cups, to LED projects, to diverting organic waste from landfills, to installing EV chargers.

Sustainability Week Activities Recap

Lunch & Learn: Recycling

This year’s Lunch & Learn topic was recycling. Although recycling seems like a simple topic, it can be more complicated than one might think. The Lunch & Learn covered what exactly recycling is, recycling statistics, why recycling is important, what cannot be recycled, how to recycle correctly, and ways to reduce waste in everyday life. Attendees were entered into a raffle to win a hydroponic indoor gardening system at each location.

Local Volunteer Events

An important part of sustainability at Miller Milling is the presence we have in our local communities. Volunteer events were a big part of the week for every location. We are off to a great start towards our 2024 goal of 1000 hours of community service! Below are the organizations that each location volunteered at during Sustainability Week:

• Winchester: Apple Blossom Festival, Rescue Mission Clean Up, and Blood Drive
• Saginaw: CommunityLink Food Bank
• Oakland: Alameda County Community Food Bank
• Fresno: Central California Blood Center and Food Bank
• Los Angeles: LA Regional Food Bank
• Corporate: Open Arms of Minnesota

Carbon Footprint Challenge

The Carbon Footprint Challenge was meant to spark individual awareness and reflection of the impact everyday activities have on the environment. Many of our day-to-day decisions impact the carbon footprint we have, and it is often something we are not conscious of. Some of the topics the challenge measures are travel, home, food, and shopping. Those who participated were entered into two raffles: one for the grand prize of an e-bike or mountain bike, and one for a local prize of a Force of Nature Grill Master Box.

 

Food Drive

Each location held a food drive in which employees brought in non-perishables throughout the week. The items were then donated to local food banks to support those in need. The company collected a total of over 1000 pounds of food!

Sustainability Suggestion Box

Employees submitted their suggestions of how Miller Milling can be more sustainable at the mills, offices, and beyond throughout the week. These suggestions will be used by the local sustainability teams to implement new projects that will continuously improve our impact on the environment.

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As we celebrate Earth Day today, know that your contributions—however seemingly small—are meaningful. As Jane Goodall once said,

“The small choices we make each day can lead to the kind of world we all want for the future.”

Thank you to the Sustainability Vision Team, the Plant Sustainability Teams, and each employee who participated in making Sustainability Week a success!

 

Corporate

Oakland

Los Angeles

Fresno

Winchester

Saginaw

MEDIA CONTACT:

William Untereker
Director of Legal & PR
Miller Milling
Will.Untereker@MillerMilling.com

Miller Milling Adds Innovation and Technical Center in Saginaw, Texas.

The new center will serve all five of the company’s mills and add flexibility to test and produce a wide array of products to its current customer offerings.

BLOOMINGTON, Minn., January 10, 2024 – Miller Milling Co., a leader in the milling industry, has broken ground for its Innovation and Technical Center in Saginaw on December 18. The center, located at 176 Fairmount Street, will serve all five of the company’s U.S. mills, 2 of sister company Rogers Foods’ mills in Canada, and be available to its customers.

The center will enable the testing and analysis of baking processes from grain to baked goods 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.

The Vice President of Sales and Marketing, Kevin Sebby, explained, “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.”

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

“Being able to own these processes in-house lets us bring tangible benefits to both our mills and our customers,” says Sebby. “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, TX, is leading the project. The building is scheduled to be completed in late 2024.

For more information on Miller Milling’s operations, visit https://millermilling.com/.

About Miller Milling

Founded in Minneapolis in 1985, Miller Milling is a leader in the milling industry and operates five strategically located facilities across the country. Miller Milling joined Nisshin Seifun Group in 2012. The company is a full-service milling resource that prides itself on its commitment to customer service and unparalleled attention to detail. Given its strength, service, and diversity of products, customers have come to expect Miller Milling as a long-term partner and resource. Learn more at www.millermilling.com.

About Nisshin Seifun Group

Founded in Japan in 1900, the Nisshin Seifun Group has become that country’s largest flour milling company and has diversified into a wide range of business areas. It operates flour mills in Asia, North America, and Oceania. As a globally expanding business, the Nisshin Seifun Group helps to enhance people’s lives by supporting healthy lifestyles and building food infrastructure. Learn more at www.nisshin.com/english.

Volunteer Projects

All in all, Miller Milling’s first Sustainability Week was a success in engaging the company in different ways through personal reflection, team collaboration, and community efforts. Though Sustainability Week is complete, Miller Milling hopes to continue the conversation and engagement around this topic.