New Malt Plant for Great Falls MT

[Everest]

Wednesday, January 22, 2003
Barley plant landed Martz says $75 million Great Falls project will employ 34
By PETER JOHNSON
Tribune Capitol Bureau

"HELENA - In major economic development for Great Falls, International
Malting Co. announced it will start construction in May on the first phase
of a $75 million, 16-million-bushel barley-malting plant just north of Great
Falls."

Isn't this the plant that was supposed to be built at Kindersley or Camrose? How and why did it get moved to the USA?

Score 0-2 for the prairies in 2 new value added initiatives. A flour mill for BC, and a malt plant for Montana.

Further down in the newspaper article referred to above it says, "At the current $4 per bushel price, the malting barley processed at the Great Falls plant would have a $64 million impact in grower sales, Peck
said."

$6.25/bus Cdn for malt barley.
Wouldn't that be nice!

Oh well. We DO have a single desk marketing system. Those poor American farmers don't.

[charliep]

Everest

Could I get you to post the link to the full story?

Thanks

Charlie

[Everest]

Story was in Wed greatfallstribune.com Maybe not there anymore, so here it is in its entirety.


Wednesday, January 22, 2003
Barley plant landed Martz says $75 million
Great Falls project will employ 34
By PETER JOHNSON
Tribune Capitol Bureau

HELENA - In major economic development for Great Falls, International
Malting Co. announced it will start construction in May on the first phase
of a $75 million, 16-million-bushel barley-malting plant just north of Great
Falls.
Gov. Judy Martz, who just learned the project was a go at noon, announced it
in her State of the State address Tuesday. An executive with the
Milwaukee-based malting giant received a standing ovation from lawmakers.
"I am absolutely elated that IMC has chosen Great Falls as the home of its
new western U.S. malting plant," Martz said, adding that state agencies have
been working on the project for 16 months.
Great Falls civic and economic officials had been working to recruit the
plant; the announcement surprised, but pleased, them.
Grain farmers were tickled at the news, since at full operation the plant
will require about 32 truckloads of malting barley per day from northcentral
Montana, plus an equal amount of barley arriving at the facility by rail.
It's tremendously exciting. I was really relieved to hear this," said
Montana Grain Growers Association President Herb Karst, a grower from
Sunburst. "It comes at an important time when we are working for higher
value crops. Malt barley has been one of bright spots for agriculture."
Karst said the direct impact of the jobs will be significant; but for
growers, the fact that high quality malt barley sells for $1 premium over
feed barley is great news.
"It's an important economic impact for Great Falls -- not just the plant,
but the trucks, the transportation and other spinoffs," Karst said.
"We have worked hard to attract malting companies because we want Montana to
be the malt capital of the world," said Montana Agricultural Department
Director Ralph Peck. "We have the climate, the soils, the location and the
motivated growers to make this happen."
At the current $4 per bushel price, the malting barley processed at the
Great Falls plant would have a $64 million impact in grower sales, Peck
said. Prior to the recent drought years, Montana was the second largest
barley producer in the nation. The IMC plant would provide barley growers
the market assurance they need to develop more growing areas and new
irrigation, he added.
"The bottom line is it's great news. It's a huge deal for agriculture and
getting that business park going in Great Falls," said David Gibson, the
chief business officer for the Governor's Office of Economic Opportunity.
"It'll be a multimillion dollar impact. There's about a hundred reasons that
this is nothing but good news - especially for the growers and for those
starting value-added ag businesses."
The plant would employ 34 workers, "paid well above minimum wage, at a rate
that you can raise a family on," said David Brunette, manufacturing director
for IMC.
Construction is scheduled to start in May, with the first phase of the plant
going into operation in September 2005, he said. It would produce 12 million
bushels a year, and the company hopes to add the second phase right away.
A 16-million bushel barley malting plant would be one of the largest in the
country, about the size of the IMC plant in Milwaukee, he said.
The malting plant would be directly southeast of NorthWestern's proposed
power plant, and IMC plans to buy power from the company if the plant is
built. While there would be considerable benefits to having a power plant
next door, Brunette said, "our decision to go ahead is not dependent on
NorthWestern's building."
Construction on NorthWestern's power plant was suspended in June and is
awaiting Montana Public Service Commission action on proposed energy
contracts and other financial questions.
"Northwestern Energy has been working closely with International Malting in
their development plans, including negotiating electricity, land, steam and
water needs for the proposed facility," said NorthWestern spokesman Roger
Schram. "We're encouraged by the possible economic development that this
facility can provide Montana and specifically Great Falls."
"The impact to the agricultural economy in Montana is going to be terrific,"
agreed Rep. John Witt, R-Carter, a farmer and rancher. Witt also said he
thinks IMC's decision to build the malting plant will help NorthWestern gain
approval for its power plant, and could lead to other economic development
opportunities in the area.
Brunette said that Great Falls and Cheyenne, Wyo., were the company's two
finalists for its western plant. But Great Falls won out because it is much
closer to barley producers, he said. Great Falls sits on the southern edge
of the Golden Triangle growing area, and there is little barley grown near
Cheyenne.
In addition, he said, Montana's tax on malting facilities is less expensive
than Wyoming's.
Brunette also praised the efforts by city, county and economic development
officials in Great Falls.
"I can't say enough about the people in Great Falls," he said. "They tried
to put together options for us and really made us feel at home."
"It would be great if it happened, but it would be news to us," said Great
Falls Mayor Randy Gray. "We've heard nothing definite about a malting plant
going in."
Brunette said he wasn't sure that the project was a go until he talked to
the company's top executives over the weekend.
"They told me, 'We are building, we are moving forward,' " Brunette said.
Rep. Joe McKenney, R-Great Falls, chairman of the House Business and
Industry Committee, called the project "a perfect type of industry to have
in Great Falls." It's a primary industry that will create jobs and bring
wealth into Montana, while adding value to a Montana resource.
The jobs will benefit urban Great Falls and the barley purchases will help
the rural area that looks to Great Falls as its service area, he said.
McKenney said he moved to Great Falls in 1981, as the community was losing
some of its heavy industry, including the ARCO copper refinery. Economic
development officials tried but failed to land huge projects like a Boeing
Corp. plant or the proposed VentureStar space port, he said.
"It appears our economic future will be bite-sized projects like the pasta
plant or this malting plant," he said. "Rather than swinging for the fences,
maybe we should try to move our economy along one base at a time."
Tribune business editor Beth Britton contributed to this story.

[TOM4CWB]

Everest;

What can anyone say... $6.25/bu barley prices were needed for our local areas too... but we "designated area" grain farmers are still fighting to recover from WWII, therefore we are not reliable suppliers...,

because we are forced to grow the same product for a monopoly "single desk" premium of $4/bu.

US subsidies are added to this $6.25/bu US price!

How on earth are we supposed to compete with the CWB sucking the life blood out of us?