Rocky Mountain Flour sifts bakery, retail markets

Rocky Mountain Flour sifts bakery, retail markets

AGRIBUSINESS

BEVERLY MCCONNICO
PLATTEVILLE — Rocky Mountain Flour Milling LLC, which began operations here in June, uses a unique process to mill organic wheats into nine different kinds of flours.

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The concept was first conceived several years ago in the mind of Steven Curran, president of the company. Curran developed and patented the milling process while he was teaching flour milling at Kansas State University.
Now labeled "a short-flow flour mill," the process takes the wheat through fewer steps in a more compact space, Curran explained.
"Traditional flour mills take up a lot of space, a lot of floors and height and are very expensive to build," he said.
"Originally, this process was designed to go into Third World countries to put into a Quonset hut or on a barge and float down a river to feed a lot of people," he said.
Although no mills have been built in Third World countries, several have been built in this country and abroad — including the Platteville mill — by Kice Industries of Wichita, Kan., which has exclusive rights to build the mills, Curran said.
The local mill consists of 50,000 square feet on six acres and employs six people. It is owned by a group of agricultural cooperatives located in northeastern Colorado and the panhandle of Nebraska,
Built to produce 200,000 pounds of flour per day, the mill currently produces a little less than half that capacity.
Currently, the specialty flours are marketed primarily to small artisan bake shops in the United States and abroad, but future markets likely will include retail outlets as well, Curran said.Knight purchases building, land
GREELEY — Knight Manufacturing Corp., headquartered in Brodhead, Wis., recently purchased for an undisclosed amount the 27,000-square-foot building it has leased since August 1995 when the company opened its Botec Division and began manufacturing mixers and feeders for the dairy and beef industries.
Although the purchase was completed in early August 1997, Steve Bartels, general manager for Botec, said the 57-year-old privately held corporation did not announce the purchase until the end of October.
"I guess this means Knight is committed to stay in Greeley," Bartels said.
The purchase also included approximately 12 acres located at 701 Cherry Ave. west of the Greeley/Weld County Airport.
Bartels said that Botec, which presently employs 25, is considering building an additional 25,000 square feet sometime within the next year, but added that "there are no firm plans as yet."
If completed, the expansion would store raw materials but would not necessitate additional hiring, Bartels said.
Knight Manufacturing manufactures livestock feed mixers and manure spreaders. The products are sold throughout the United States.Colorado Farm Show opens
GREELEY — When it opens at Island Grove Regional Park Jan. 27, the 34th annual Colorado Farm Show will have 10 percent more exhibitors than last year, including farm trucks on display for the first time by area auto dealers.
"We˜ve maxed out on exhibitor space" in the existing Exhibition Building, so a 60-by-160-foot heated tent will be erected to accommodate exhibitors that have been on the waiting list, said Tom Rainbolt, chairman of the event.
Rainbolt expects more than 250 exhibitors this year to show products and services. The largest farm show in the area, it generally draws 20,000 to 25,000 visitors from Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, Wyoming and Utah.
The show will be held Jan. 27, 28 and 29, 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. in the Exhibition Building at Island Grove Regional Park, 501 N. 14th Avenue.