Food Innovation

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RiceBran Technologies Expands MGI Grain to Meet Increasing Demand

Company Plans to Double Mill Capacity, With Minimal Increase in Labor and a Minimal Capital Investment to Expand Capability to Deliver Domestically Sourced Ingredients

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/ricebran-technologies-expands-mgi-grain-120000332.html

TOMBALL, TX / ACCESSWIRE / May 18, 2022 / RiceBran Technologies (NASDAQ:RIBT) (the "Company") a global leader in the development and manufacture of nutritional and functional ingredients derived from rice and other small and ancient grains for human food, nutraceutical, pet care and equine feed applications, today announced the initiation of a significant capacity expansion of the Company's MGI Grain Incorporated ("MGI") facility in East Grand Forks, Minnesota. The expansion is expected to double the capacity of the pearling mill, enabling RiceBran to meet growing demand for North American-sourced, grain-based ingredients and with a minimal capital investment and a limited increase in labor.

The project will replace one of the mill's main grain de-hullers with a new de-huller/pearler; more than doubling the plant's production capacity. In addition to the new huller, MGI will support increased throughput and quality with the addition of a color sorter, as well as enhancements to the mill's grain receiving, cleaning and conveyance systems. The project, which is being executed by a trusted contractor and RiceBran's own internal engineering team, is deployed in a manner that minimizes disruption to the mill's daily operations. The investments, which totaled less than half-a-million dollars, are expected to be completed in mid-summer 2022.

"These upgrades will allow RiceBran to finally leverage MGI's true potential expanding volume and process flexibility while enhancing product quality," said MGI business lead Kevin Pray. "This will allow us to double the capacity of the pearling mill within the same building footprint, giving us the ability to meet increasing customer demands while navigating a tight labor market, with only a modest capital investment."

"The demand for regionally-sourced ingredients and agricultural products is soaring given the uncertainty of the geopolitical environment and challenges in the global supply chain, and we are able to respond," said RiceBran Chairman Peter Bradley. "Not only does MGI provide RiceBran with strategic options in the long-term as a source of new feedstocks for our high value ingredient business, this small investment in significant incremental capacity provides us with a unique opportunity to capitalize on the current macro-environment."