Miller Magazine Issue: 124 April 2020

70 INTERVIEW MILLER / APRIL 2020 How many mills do you have all over the U.S. and where are they located? How many people do you employ? We have three mill sites. The first in Teutopolis, IL, along with the 1 million pound capacity. mill, we also have our flour heat treatment facility. The second plant was built in 1995 in Hopkinsville, KY, it houses four mills now and produces 1.6 million lbs a day. The most recent- ly built facility opened in 2015 and is in West Harrison, IN. It also has the capacity to produce 1 million lbs. a day. SMC employs 180 people. Can you give us some information about your mill- ing capacity and the technologies you use? The three plants have a total combined capacity of 36,000 cwt a day. That is about 16,000 metric tons. While milling is still essentially done with the same base technology of roller mills, we have implemented numer- ous new technologies to increase yield and decrease en- ergy consumption. We have a strong relationship with the Bühler Corporation and have frequently worked with them to be the first( at least in the U.S.), to install their latest advancement in equipment that meets our particu- lar needs as soft wheat flour producers. Which kind of products do you produce? What are your best-known brands? We mill soft wheat flour. We sell flour wholesale to bakers and blenders and it goes into a variety of products like cookies, cake mixes, biscuits, and crackers. Some of the most recognizable brands that contain our flour are: McDonald’s (biscuits), Nestle (toll house cookie dough), KFC (gravy), Duncan Hines cakes mixes, and Krusteaz pancake mixes. We also have an extender division selling non-food-grade flour to the construction industry as an adhesive ingredient for plywood. Do you export your grain-based solutions? If yes, where do you export your products? We have a few international cus- tomers for our heat-treated Siemer Specialty Ingredients. Our product gets shipped to the United King- dom, Brazil, and South Africa. Do you have any plans to ex- pand your business outside the U.S? We have no current plans to ex- pand outside of the U.S., but we are always open to opportunities that make good business sense. Siemer Milling is dedicated to innovations. What can you say about the innovations and solu- tions that you have brought to the milling industry? The long history of the company is honestly full of innovative moves by the employees and leaders of the company. One example going back a few years, SMC was able to create a process to produce a high function- ing cake flour for the Duncan Hines brand in 1984 when its owner was suddenly in dire need of a new flour sup- plier due to a PR crisis. We still supply the flour for that brand despite several owner changes over the years. Siemer Milling Co. was the first company in the U.S. to produce heat-treated, low micro flour and co-prod- ucts. We worked hard for many years to demonstrate to customers the various functional differences of our heat-treated products. We get excited about finding ways to solve unique problems with grain-based solu- tions. For example, we created a product to act as a car- rier for an enzyme in animal feed, and another product to act as sound insulation. Another example of an inno- vation is our entry into the extender market in the con- struction industry. American consumers have high-quality taste stan- dards. How do you satisfy the consumers' needs? We are committed to understanding and appreciating our customers to provide them with what they want. We are resolved to provide the best customer service we can. Our millers excel at taking our available wheat and grind- ing it so as to meet each customer’s specifications. Could you tell us about changing flour consumption patterns and trends in the U.S.? Flour consumption in the U.S. is down a few pounds from its most recent high point in 2007. Fad diets touting the exclusion of simple carbohydrates and white flour have been a part of American culture for a