Philadelphia Macaroni Co. (PMC) division Minot Milling announced the completion of two major capital projects this week that will enable the firm to meet production goals, increase supply to customers, and support its labor force.

“The first project was renovation of one of our mills, which now has the flexibility to swing between durum and spring wheat flour. This gives Minot Milling additional durum capacity to satisfy higher demand due to PMC’s acquisition of Zerega,” the company wrote in an August 24 release. “Besides creating swing flexibility, the new mill was retrofitted with a debranner, which promotes higher quality flour by removing impurities that may be present on the outer bran coat.”

Minot Milling also installed another grain receiving system at its location with a new automated truck scale. The improvements are expected to double the grain elevator’s unloading capacity and reduce unloading time.

Work was carried out while following COVID-19 restrictions and protocols, the company stated. While the pandemic posed a number of challenges to Minot Milling’s operations, the firm’s release noted that severe drought conditions in the Northern Plains are also expected to create some issues in the market.

“As predicted, total 2021 durum production in both the US and Canada is estimated to be less than 160 million bushels vs 308 million bushels last year,” Minot Milling said. “No question, record low durum production, along with low carryover inventories, will make supply tight and values high. And with our recent facility improvements, we have hit the ground running to face this industry challenge.”