King Milling Co. is planning a $42 million expansion at its Lowell headquarters, pictured here. (Photo provided to MLive by King Milling Co.)

KENT COUNTY, MI – A family-owned flour mill in West Michigan announced a $42 million expansion that will add new jobs and increase production levels by nearly 45%.

King Milling Company, which produces various hard and soft wheat products for flour, is planning to build a 35,000-square-foot, six-floor mill at its headquarters in downtown Lowell that will bring “the country’s most modern mill to West Michigan,” according to a Tuesday, June 21 news release.

“This expansion is part of our commitment to being on the leading edge of milling technology and producing the highest-quality flour and wheat products for our customers here in Michigan and around the country,” Brian Doyle, the company’s president, said in a prepared statement.

“King Milling is proud of our century-plus presence in the Lowell community and the tremendous growth we have experienced since our humble beginnings in 1890. This is the largest single investment we have made, and it will provide benefits to Michigan’s agriculture and food processing sectors for many years to come.”

Vice President Patrick Doyle said the flour mill is expanding in response to growing demand from its customer base. King Milling produces various kinds of wheat for flours that are bought by bakers and food processors in Michigan and across the country.

As those businesses have grown in recent years, the demand for King Milling’s flour has also grown, Patrick Doyle said.

“We’ve been operating almost at capacity for quite a while here,” he told MLive/The Grand Rapids Press Wednesday, June 22. “There’s a lot of food products that are made right here in West Michigan. A lot of the bakeries are doing very well and growing, and we’re fortunate that they are wanting to partner with us and growing with us as well, and that’s a big driver right there.”

King Milling, 222 West Main Street, currently employs around 60 people. The expansion will add six new jobs to the company, ranging from technical to managerial positions. The pay range was not provided before publication.

On Monday, the city of Lowell approved a 12-year, 50% tax abatement for the company’s expansion project. City leaders said the expansion will solidify King Milling’s presence in Lowell, where the company was founded in 1890.

“King Milling Co. has been a cornerstone of our community for generations,” Lowell City Manager Mike Burns said in a statement. “Its iconic mills are instantly recognizable in Lowell. We are pleased the company has decided to expand its operations and add new jobs right here at home.”

King Milling has been family-owned and operated since it was founded on the Flat River in Lowell over 130 years ago and is now in the fourth and fifth generations of the Doyle family ownership.

In the early days, the company used a stone-grinding process to produce its flour on a mill on the river. Today, it is one of only six remaining flour mills left in Michigan.

The expansion will increase King Milling’s production levels by 750,000 pounds of flour a day, from 1.7 million pounds to more than 2.5 million pounds a day.

The company expects to break ground on the new facility in July, and the building will be operational by the end of 2023, according to the release.

The expansion is also supported by the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (MDARD). In May, MDARD approved a $250,000 grant through its Food and Agriculture Investment Program for the company’s expansion plan.

“Investing in local businesses like King Milling helps create good-paying jobs, supports local economies and fuels the continued growth of Michigan’s vital food and agriculture sector,” MDARD Director Gary McDowell said in a statement.

“This project – made possible in part by MDARD’s Food and Agriculture Investment Program – underscores King Milling’s commitment to Michigan. They will be able to process more wheat locally, meet demand from bakers and cereal producers across the nation and create new opportunities for our wheat growers.”

The majority of King Milling’s sales are sold in bulk to food processors, but consumers can buy a few of the company’s branded flours at Gordon Food Service stores, Heffron Farm Markets in Grand Rapids and Red Barn Market in Lowell.

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