Milling Facility Planned For Dearborn County
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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowWhitewater Mill LLC intends to invest more than $37 million in a wheat processing operation in southeast Indiana. The venture is a partnership with Illinois-based Siemer Milling Co. and Hy. Nagel & Son of Cincinnati. Whitewater says the plan will create nearly three dozen jobs by 2016. October 24, 2013
News Release
WEST HARRISON, Ind. – Whitewater Mill LLC announced plans today to establish a wheat processing facility here as a joint venture between Siemer Milling Company and Hy. Nagel & Son, creating up to 35 new jobs by 2016.
The Teutopolis, Ill. and Cincinnati, Ohio-based companies will invest $37.4 million to construct and equip a five floor wheat flour mill on Old U.S. 52 in West Harrison. The facility, which is expected to be operational by spring 2015, will allow the company to produce 700 tons of wheat-based products daily.
“Companies in the food industry continue to discover that when it comes to a healthy business climate, there is no better place in the world to invest and create new jobs than in Indiana,” said Victor Smith, Indiana Secretary of Commerce. “In the heartland of America, we are proud to be a state that works for business, offering a convenient location within one day's drive of 80 percent of the nation's population and the needed transportation system to reach clients.”
Siemer Milling currently employs approximately 125 associates at its mills in Teutopolis, Ill. and Hopkinsville, Ky. It plans to begin hiring millers, loaders, maintenance and packaging associates, laboratory technicians and managers in West Harrison for Whitewater Mill early next year.
“Nagel and Siemer see a great opportunity for flour milling in southeast Indiana,” said Rick Siemer, president of Siemer Milling. “Existing and potential wheat supply and flour demand factors point to long-term success for this venture. We are very happy with the positive reception our project has received from local government in the Dearborn County area and the state of Indiana. Their encouraging attitude and assistance in dealing with regulatory issues is invaluable. In this case, transportation probably ranked as the number one deciding factor on where to locate.”
Founded in 1882, Siemer Milling is a flour company that internally manages sanitation, pest management and food defense programs for its facilities, earning an A rating from the BRC Global Food Safety Initiative. Partner Nagel & Son also has deep roots in wheat milling, founded in 1857. Whitewater Mill will produce flours, flour co-products, wheat germ and bran for snack and dessert foods, baking mixes, biscuits, batters and breadings. This highly-automated facility will process 7 million bushels of wheat annually, much of which will be supplied by local farmers.
The Indiana Economic Development Corporation offered Siemer Milling Company up to $325,000 in conditional tax credits based on the company's job creation plans. These tax credits are performance-based, meaning until Hoosiers are hired, the company is not eligible to claim incentives. Dearborn County approved additional incentives at the request of the Dearborn County Economic Development Initiative.
“We have invested in land and infrastructure and are committed to our goal of developing the West Harrison area, as well as other viable areas of Dearborn County,” said Dearborn County Commissioner Shane McHenry. “This facility will bring jobs, tax base, and, not to be overlooked, a new outlet for Indiana's regional farmers. Rarely do you see a project that supports intermodal transport, agriculture, jobs and is a catalyst for ancillary businesses who may want to do business near a flour supplier.”
About Siemer Milling
Siemer Milling Company provides food products. It offers flours, such as bagel, cookie, pizza dough, batter, cone, pretzel, biscuit, cracker, soup, bread, donut, tortilla, breading, gravy, bun, pastry, cake and pancake; wheat bran for applications, such as breads, cereals, snacks, fiber fortification, dietary supplement, industrial, cat food, dog food and livestock feed; and wheat for the making of foods, such as cookies, crackers, cakes, pretzels, batters and breadings, bread, and biscuits. The company also provides wheat germ for applications, such as cereals, dietary, supplement, and vitamins; Extender, an additive to adhesive or binder used in plywood or panel manufacture; Glu-X, a special glue extender milled expressly as the protein-starch adhesive extender for the wood panel industry; and Spray-X for spray applications. Siemer Milling Company was formerly known as Hope Mills, Uptmor & Siemer, Proprietors and changed its name to Siemer Milling Company in January 1906. Siemer Milling Company was founded in 1882 and is based in Teutopolis, Illinois.
About IEDC
Created in 2005 to replace the former Department of Commerce, the Indiana Economic Development Corporation is governed by a 12-member board chaired by Governor Mike Pence. Victor Smith serves as the Indiana Secretary of Commerce and Eric Doden is the president of the IEDC.
The IEDC oversees programs enacted by the General Assembly including tax credits, workforce training grants and public infrastructure assistance. All tax credits are performance-based. Therefore, companies must first invest in Indiana through job creation or capital investment before incentives are paid. A company who does not meet its full projections only receives a percentage of the incentives proportional to its actual investment. For more information about IEDC, visit www.iedc.in.gov.
Source: Indiana Economic Development Corp.