LifeLine finishes its masa mill expansion.
LifeLine Foods, Inc. had a ribbon-cutting event at its St. Joseph plant on September 22 to commemorate the completion of its $12 million masa mill expansion.
With the larger mill, LifeLine will be able to have a bigger impact in the quickly expanding Mexican cuisine market in the US by creating higher-quality masa products.
“LifeLine Foods uses masa to make chips, tamales, tortillas, and other products,” stated Kevin Kelly, the company’s president and CEO. Not only do tortillas now outsell white sandwich bread, but they also outsell hamburger and hot dog buns. Hispanic food is expanding rapidly, and mashed is thought to be healthier. We now have the chance to actively compete in this category thanks to this expansion.
He said that over the following five years, LifeLine Foods was well-positioned for significant expansion.
According to Mr. Kelly, “looking at and leaning into key consumer market trends has helped shape our growth strategy.” “Our completed expansion of our masa mill and the capital investments we made in our specialty mill a year ago, which produces USDA-certified organic and Non-GMO Project verified products, are proof that we are paying attention to what the market is telling us for growth.”
We have also made significant investments in our own workforce. Our team comprises highly skilled individuals with extensive backgrounds in the masa domain.
Over the past year, LifeLine has invested over $10 million on the expansion of the masa mill, with $3 million going toward hiring local contractors.
“The corn we use in our facility is grown right here in Northwest Missouri, Northeast Kansas, Iowa, and Nebraska, and we process nearly 26 million bushels of corn annually,” Mr. Kelly stated. “We are grateful for the support of the state of Missouri, the St. Joseph Chamber of Commerce, and the city of St. Joseph in our expansion. We are pleased that LifeLine is able to expand its footprint in the area as it grows.
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The St. Joseph Chamber of Commerce’s vice president of economic development, Brad Lau, and state representatives Bill Falkner and Brenda Shields, as well as Matt Barry from Congressman Sam Graves’ office, Elizabeth Johnson from Senator Josh Hawley’s office, and Brandt Shields from Senator Roy Blunt’s office, joined Mr. Kelly at the ceremony. Michelle Clark is the chief financial officer of LifeLine. In addition, present were presiding Buchanan County Commissioner Lee Sawyer and Mayor Bill McMurray of St. Joseph.
Mr. Kelly stated, “We are happy to formally congratulate the team and local contractors who completed the project today.”
LifeLine Foods was established in 2001 and manufactures maize grits, corn meals, masa, and pre-gelatinized corn flour. 650 farmers from Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska, and Missouri own the cooperative.
LifeLine’s 780,000-square-foot, SQF Level 2-certified milling facility, which employs over 150 people, is situated in St. Joseph’s Corn Belt.