ADM Announces Closure of Lincoln Flour Milling Operation

For more than a century, a facility at Sixth and South streets in Lincoln has taken in carloads of wheat and turned it into flour. But that 118-year-old business is about to come to an end. Last week, ADM announced it plans to shut down the flour milling business as part of a consolidation strategy. About 30 of the 65 people who work there will lose their jobs, although an ADM spokesperson said they could be offered jobs elsewhere in the company. “Over the recent years, ADM’s Milling & Baking Solutions business has worked to optimize its network to serve customers more efficiently,” the company said in an emailed statement. “We’ve invested in new and upgraded operations – such as our plant in Mendota, Illinois – and we’ve also made some difficult but necessary decisions to close certain facilities.” The company spokesperson said ADM will continue its product packaging and extrusion lines. Industry publication World Grain reported that among the products that will continue to be made in Lincoln are flour in packages ranging from 2 pounds to 25, including organic and conventional flour, self-rising flour, white flour tortilla mix and other mixed flour products. The extrusion line produces a pre-gelatinized wheat flour used by bakers and others as an ingredient in batters, sauces, dry mixes, and pet food. Gooch Milling & Elevator Co. built the original Lincoln plant in 1908. ADM acquired it in 1970. World Grain reported that ADM has shut down several older flour mills in recent years, including facilities in New Braunfels, Texas; Los Angeles; Salina, Kansas; Minneapolis; and Chicago. A mill and gluten facility in Iowa also was closed.