Western Foods LLC has finalized its next phase of expansion with the completion of its rice flour and ancient grain milling business by opening a new 56,000 square ft. facility located in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, US.

The new state-of-the-art, dedicated gluten-free, Japanese style mill is now fully operational and was officially awarded SQF Food Safety Certification (formerly SQF Level II) on August 23, 2018. Western Foods’ new flour mill is located on a 9-acre lot within Jefferson County Industrial Park in the Pine Bluff, Arkansas area with ample room for future growth, according to the company.

Western Foods’ growth in recent years has enabled this expansion into Arkansas. The Delta Region facility will likely strengthen Western Foods’ position in the long grain rice flour market.

“By opening our second mill in Pine Bluff, we will have an excellent logistical flow to develop new markets in important regions of the US, (Mid-West; Southwest; Northeast and Southeastern regions),” states Tom Andringa, Vice President of Sales and Business Development.

Miguel Reyna, Western Foods’ President and Chief Executive Officer, adds: “We are extremely proud to announce that our new Pine Bluff facility has passed the initial SQF audit with flying colors. We would like to thank our Engineering, Production and Quality Teams for all their hard work and dedication to earn this accreditation. The detailed report from SQF is available upon request. We anticipate the official certificate to be in hand no later than Friday, September 28, 2018.”

Western Foods’ new Delta Region facility, in the central US, has an excellent multi-modal transportation system, including two rail lines (Burlington Northern Santa Fe and Union Pacific), 13 common freight carriers with 5 terminals and the Port of Pine Bluff, a slack water harbor located on the Arkansas River, US.