South Dakota wheat to feed new ramen noodle factory

BELLE FOURCHE, S.D. — As Albany Farms was searching for a U.S. location for a brand new ramen noodle manufacturing plant, it honed in on a website “proper in the midst of 21,000 sq. miles of the perfect wheat that grows on the planet,” stated Lyle Rogalla.

Rogalla is an engineer with Albany Farms at that new location in Belle Fourche, South Dakota, the place a former storage tank manufacturing facility is being remodeled right into a noodle manufacturing unit with room to finally construct a flour mill for the wheat that it wants.

On the finish of June, Rogalla stated the manufacturing plant was weeks away from beginning manufacturing. It’ll initially begin with flour already milled at different websites within the Midwest.

“We’re very close to to our preliminary startup — recipe testing and proving and we hope to really be into transport product at retail high quality degree, early a part of August,” Rogalla stated.

Albany Farms introduced final fall that it was transferring its ramen noodle manufacturing to Belle Fourche, northwest of Speedy Metropolis in western South Dakota.

“We’re thrilled to have them in Belle Fourche,” stated Hollie Stalder, government director of the Belle Fourche Financial Growth Company.

Whereas Belle Fourche might solely have a inhabitants of about 5,700 individuals, she stated the northern Black Hills space has about 30,000 individuals.

The corporate stated it will initially make use of about 50 staff and has been actively recruiting to fill positions. The location would possibly finally make use of as many as 500 staff.

Rogalla stated the corporate has been in discussions with teams of wheat growers.

“We will say not solely is our product 100% USA made, the wheat is 100% South Dakota grown and is non-commingled,” Rogalla stated.

He stated the plant will want the equal of about 80,000 acres of wheat yearly. It might be both onerous pink winter wheat or onerous pink spring wheat.

With no middlemen between the ramen plant and the growers, “we nonetheless could have an especially aggressive worth in your grocery market shelf,” Rogalla stated.

Then there are plans for a freeze-dry facility that might deal with greens and meat merchandise for its full ramen meals.

Rogalla stated the entire funding within the Belle Fourche website will likely be approaching $300 million when these items are added, which he stated he hopes will likely be in lower than three years.

A part of the attraction to the Belle Fourche website was its rail entry for bringing in bulk a great deal of elements.

Rogalla stated the one timeline on the mill was “as quickly as attainable,” however as world provide chain points persist, there’s nothing agency but.

These provide chain points have led to some artistic problem-solving as Albany Farms has sought to equip the Belle Fourche facility.

“So it has been fairly a journey,” Rogalla stated. “You already know, components not accessible, metal not accessible. So we have needed to be very intelligent in our design, in our setup, to cross typically availability challenges, nevertheless it’s going nicely.”

However world transport and provide points are additionally a giant purpose why Albany Farms is relocating to South Dakota.

The California-based firm had been utilizing a facility in Asia for ramen noodle manufacturing. These noodles had been then being shipped in bulk to the U.S., the place they had been being repackaged for retail distribution.

However with the skyrocketing prices of transport, Albany Farms made a strategic determination to construct a manufacturing facility within the coronary heart of wheat nation.

From there, the ramen noodle merchandise will finally find yourself on grocery cabinets in shops corresponding to Goal, Meals Lion and Walmart Canada. H-E-B Grocery in Texas is one other new associate.

“We plan to alter ramen … to a well-balanced meal that’s economical and get day’s provide of all of the diet teams,” Rogalla stated.

However for now, Rogalla stated Albany Farms is “beginning humbly with some sincere ramen.”