American agribusiness Archer Daniels Midland (ADM) plans to halt production at two of its flour mills in the U.S. as the company prepares to open its new flour mill in Mendota, IL later this year, the firm announced in a release Thursday.

Operations will come to an end at ADM’s Nokomis flour mill in Minneapolis MN and its flour mill in Salina, KS over the coming months. In addition to the changes to ADM’s Midwest flour milling capacity, the firm also said it plans to cease operations at its Chicago wheat mill when the Mendota site opens.  

“We are continuing to see strong demand for flour in the Midwest, and the changes we are announcing today, along with the opening of our new, state-of-the-art mill in Mendota later this year, will perfectly position ADM Milling to meet customer needs throughout the region,” ADM Carbohydrates President Chris Cuddy said in a statement. “The three facilities we are closing in Minnesota, Kansas, and Illinois are all more than a century old, and despite the great work of our teams in each location, the age of those mills significantly constrains our operations.”

Once opened, the Mendota flour mill will have a milling capacity of 30,000 cwts/day for both soft and hard wheat varieties. The site will also feature capabilities to unload 110-car shuttle trains. According to ADM, the combined daily capacity of the mills slated for closure is 29,000 cwts. 

“Mendota is one of many important growth investments we’re making at ADM Milling,” said Cuddy. “We’re investing in improvements at our Atkinson mill in Minneapolis – which we will continue to operate – and we just celebrated the opening of our modernized, state-of-the-art mill in Enid, OK late last year.”

The Mendota facility is expected to open in the second half of 2019. 

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