BUSINESS

Top eight reasons why region ideal for pulse plant

Peter Johnson pjohnson@greatfallstribune.com

The Great Falls Development Authority has received the first of seven detailed business case studies to help it recruit agri-processing plants in specialized niche markets.

With federal and state grant money, the GFDA hired seasoned consultant Neil Doty to make the best case for agricultural processing plants to locate their intermediate stage plants in the Great Falls region. The GFDA will use the hard facts from the reports to recruit such job-producing plants.

Doty, who has experience as both a research scientist in cereal grains and a business manager who helped locate plants, has completed the area’s first business case for pulse crop fractionalization, or milling, plants.

Companies using dry milling and air classification technology in the Great Falls region “would have significant economic advantages to competition and could become the lowest cost producer in North America of pea protein concentrates, fiber and starches,” Doty said.

He offered eight reasons, supported with later documentation, why the Great Falls region will be a leading competitor:

•Abundant dry pea production in the region that would enable an operation to gain an economic advantage by procuring peas directly from pea producers. (Doty said the same technologies could be used for lentils and dry beans, but pea fractionated products are more in demand because of lower cost and better flavor and functionality.)

•Lowest electrical costs for industrial use in pea growing areas in North America, which significantly reduces direct energy costs.

• Plentiful labor resources that can be coupled with Montana-sponsored workforce training financial incentives.

• Two impressive, shovel-ready, rail-served industrial parks in Great Falls and Shelby with required infrastructure to support a pea fractionation facility.

• BNSF rail service in the regional industrial parks for efficient transport of goods by rail.

• The I-15 Interstate corridor that connects with major highway systems for efficient transport of goods by truck throughout North America.

• The region is serviced by dozens of Montana-based and out-of-state trucking firms for efficient and cost effective transport of goods by truck.

• The region already has a foothold in the intermediate industrial products segment of food manufacturing, which make ingredients that are shipped to plants closer to major markets that make final products.

GFDA manufacturing partnership director Rebecca Engum listed several regional companies that are involved in intermediate production, some of which also make final products. They included Pasta Montana, MaltEurop, Cereal Food Processors, Montana Milling, Montana Specialty Mills and Smoot Honey.