King Milling
King Milling has never been afraid of stepping out and adapting new milling technologies to improve their operations. Their latest “D” mill is a testament to a generations-old philosophy that has guided them for over 100 years. Packed with the latest technologies from Bühler, King’s new mill is a clear investment in their own growth and sustainability, as well as that of their customers.
Nick Manley, November 2024
If you closed your eyes and imagined the quintessential small, midwestern US town, chances are very good that what you would see in your mind’s eye is almost exactly what you would see when you enter Lowell, Michigan: A main street lined with historic late 19th century buildings, small businesses bustling with townspeople, all nestled into the vast expanses of surrounding farmlands.
In this quaint setting at the confluence of the Flat and Grand Rivers and in the middle of this picturesque town, King Milling Company rises as a beacon of both tradition and modernity. With a history spanning over 134 years and five generations of the Doyle family ownership, this business has kept its roots firmly planted while propelling itself into the future with pioneering technologies and a steadfast commitment to sustainability. This duality of honoring the past and embracing the future is something that defines King Milling.
King Milling’s journey began over a century ago, marking its inception in a period when the milling industry was largely manual and driven by waterpower – a technology that still powers portions of its “A” mill. Throughout its history, the company has witnessed and adapted to the seismic shifts in milling technology. “King Milling Company has a long history of employing the latest milling technologies. We were one of the first mills to use pneumatics back in the late 1950s. Then in the 1980s, we were again one of the first to be fully automated, using PLCs (programmable logic controllers) to control the mill,” Jim Doyle, Executive Vice Chairman of King Milling Company says. “We were also one of the first, if not the first, to use color sorters in the milling process. Here in our new mill, we are using the absolute latest technologies from Bühler for cleaning, optical sorting, and weighing and dosing among others.”
Indeed, a particularly defining characteristic of King Milling is their ability to blend this rich history with cutting-edge innovation. The company’s dedication to quality and technological advancement has positioned it as a key player in a highly competitive industry.
King Milling processes several different wheat classes. The site produces products from soft white, soft red, hard red winter, and hard red spring wheats for a wide variety of customers, ranging from flours for cereal producers and bakers to grains for brewers and distillers. However, even running 24 hours a day, seven days a week King Milling still found themselves having to say “no” to existing customers who wanted more of their high-quality products, and new customers that were now knocking on their door. “We simply needed more capacity to produce flour,” says Jim Doyle.
King Milling and Bühler have enjoyed a long and productive relationship, dating back to the 1960s, around the time that Bühler first established a North American presence. What started with a few machines back then developed into a trusted partnership that gave the Doyles the confidence that Bühler could help them to meet their growing need for greater capacity. Having built King Milling’s “B” mill, Bühler, led by Sales Account Manager for Wheat and Rye Hendrik Weichelt got the task of building the company’s latest “D” mill.
Weichelt is always up for an exciting challenge, and this new mill presented plenty. “King Milling has a unique location,” Weichelt explains. “They are located in the center of town, and it’s important to them to be good neighbors to the community.
We also had the existing mill structures to deal with. So, the footprint we had to work within was the biggest challenge.” Collaboration between the two teams was the key to overcoming this. From the very start, King Milling was heavily involved in the planning of the new mill. With a bit of creativity, they were able to squeeze the new mill into the existing location with room for future expansion. The addition of the new mill increased King Milling’s capacity by 406 tonnes to a total of 1,270 tonnes per day.
Quality is a deliverable for King Milling. Over the lifespan of the company, they’ve built a reputation for providing a high-quality, nutritious product. This doesn’t necessarily make them unique in the milling industry, but if one of your calling cards is being able to consistently and reliably deliver on that promise of high quality, then it needs to be a central tenet of your operations. And with King Milling it certainly is. Regan Doyle, King Milling’s Vice President of Operations, ties quality directly to efficiency. “Quality has to be ingrained in our mindset through everything we do here. And the efficient operations of our facility give our entire team the time that they need to dedicate to the quality of our product,” Doyle says.
Quality has to be ingrained in our mindset. the efficient operations of our facility give our entire team the time that they need to dedicate to the quality of our product.
Regan Doyle,
Vice President of Operations at King Milling
To help reach that level of efficiency, King Milling installed the latest portfolio of weighing and dosing scales and flow balancers. This new line is making its mark in the industry for precision, quality, and – key for King Milling – energy efficiency. For example, the Akrivis batch scale employed at King Milling can deliver accuracy to ±0.1 percent while reducing power usage up to 99 percent with its DriveX modules and integrated power management systems – an important benefit for a mill that is laser-focused on sustainability.
Sustainability is woven into the fabric of the company’s operations. Even before sustainability became a global imperative, the company was pioneering green practices. “Our philosophy as a company is to try to always do things the right way. We’ve been trying to do things the right way from the beginning. We always like to say that we were green before green was popular,” says Patrick Doyle, President at King Milling. In fact, they still use water power from the Flat River to run portions of their “A” mill.
The new mill contains some thoughtful design features that help the company make progress on their sustainability journey. For starters, the mill is fully insulated, helping to regulate the temperature inside. Additionally, they worked with Bühler engineers to design and install an Air Make-up Unit (AMU) that takes warmed process air from inside the mill to help heat the incoming fresh air, significantly lowering their energy usage in the colder months. “The AMU is a big improvement in energy efficiency over what we have in the other mills,” Patrick Doyle says.
King Milling’s approach to sustainability is multifaceted, encompassing everything from energy efficiency to community stewardship. Over the past 3 years, they have collaborated with Bühler’s Environmental Impact Service (EIS) to quantify and mitigate their carbon footprint. Each year the company met with the EIS team to work on gathering and quantifying data around King Milling’s sustainability initiatives. This work resulted in a plan on how King Milling can move forward with their plans and set new Scope 1 and 2 emissions targets for coming years.
As defined by the Greenhouse Gas Protocol, Scope 1 emissions are direct emissions from sources owned or controlled by a company, and Scope 2 emissions are indirect emissions from purchased electricity, steam, heat, and cooling. And as it turns out, King Milling has been making all the right moves. “Working with the EIS team, we found that there were no substantial areas for improvement,” says Tiffani Hauck, Director of Regulatory Compliance and Sustainability at King Milling. “Having the data really confirms that what we’re doing here is the right thing.”
Our philosophy as a company is to try to always do things the right way. We always like to say that we were green before green was popular.
Patrick Doyle,
President at King Milling
For Hauck, using the EIS has given King Milling direction on where they can focus next and look at options and opportunities for improvement. For instance, when it comes to energy use, King Milling is now partnering with Lowell Light and Power, the local energy supplier, to see what options there are for them to use more green energy. “It’s really about understanding the possibilities,” explains Hauck. “The results of this collaboration act as a guide to help identify where we emit more carbon and how we might address the issues.”
“Sustainability is a key topic in business performance,” says Jay O’Nien, Environmental Impact Services Lead at Bühler. “Companies are finding they must quantify and understand their environmental footprint to guide investment decisions, support customer requests, and report key figures to their stakeholders. The milling industry plays a key role in reducing the environmental footprint of products we consume every day, and King Milling has been very proactive and effective in their approach.”
The company’s sustainability programs extend beyond technology to human capital and community outreach. They maintain a stormwater program to protect the adjacent river, reflecting their commitment to environmental stewardship. “It’s important that even though I’m the sustainability director here, the whole staff is very much aware of the part that they play when it comes to sustainability and making sure that we’re keeping such things as the river clean, our drains clean, and being conscious of the waste we do produce and that it’s dealt with properly,” says Hauck.
The idea of doing the right thing is one that is repeated frequently when talking to the King Milling team. Whether it’s the company, their customers, their community, or the environment, doing the right thing has, and will continue to drive King Milling’s success. With this commitment and an unyielding focus on quality, innovation, and sustainability, they are poised for a bright future.
Who: King Milling
When: Founded in 1890.
Where: Lowell, Michigan, US
What: King Milling produces products from soft white, soft red, hard red winter, and hard red spring wheats. Customers: The company supplies customers in almost 60 countries.
Customers: The company supplies flour to a wide range of food producers, as well as whole grains to brewers and distillers.
Bühler: King Milling has multiple mills equipped with Bühler wheat milling solutions. In their newest mill, they are employing the latest cleaning and weighing and dosing technologies available.
Gupfenstrasse 5
Uzwil
9240
Switzerland
