World Grain - October 2015 - 30

FEATURE: ARDENT MILLS COMING INTO ITS OWN

being the industry's largest company.
"Being big is no guarantee of success," Stoufer said. "It's almost like if
you view that as a right to success, you
are going to fail. We are trying to instill
the sense of a nimble, entrepreneurial organization, even though we are big. We
do operate a lot of plants. How do we
behave small and react for the customer in the marketplace? That's the most
LPSRUWDQWWKLQJ:H¶UH¿QGLQJQHZDQG
better ways to do that every day."
While seeking to meet customer
needs today, Stoufer said Ardent Mills
is looking to satisfy expectations that
are still greater as a result of change
WUDQVSLULQJRXWVLGHRIWKHÀRXUPLOOLQJ
industry.
"Our customers' view of service
is not driven by what Ardent Mills is
doing," he said. "It's driven by other
industries. Think about Google or
Amazon or other great companies that
KDYH WKLV YHU\ GH¿QHG PHDVXUH RI H[pertise. Those are the ones setting the
bar for Ardent Mills. We have to sit
back and go, 'What are the right expectations and metrics for the business to
operate as world class?' and then make
sure we are working to deliver against
it. And then, 'What's the appropriate
timeline to do that?'"
To Dye, these different and higher
aspirations are part and parcel of establishing Ardent Mills as a new and distinct company.
"It's the things that are unique to
$UGHQW 0LOOV WKDW GH¿QH XV DV D QHZ
company," he said. "We really tried to
PDNHWKDWFOHDUWRRXURZQSHRSOH¿UVW
but also with our customers. It is Ardent
Mills. That is our identity. We do it in everything from our signage to the way we
present and talk about our business. We
have really tried to put the legacy companies behind us and look forward as
Ardent Mills. There are things that take
time. We're even just now doing some of
the packaging changes, and doing other
things that will evolve with the brand of
$UGHQW0LOOV%XWIURPWKHYHU\¿UVWGD\
we said, 'We are Ardent Mills.'"
Stoufer added, "It's a lot of little
30

things that develop culture. It's empowering the people of Ardent Mills,
and I think they've really embraced
their ability to make decisions. They
DUHWKHRQHVGH¿QLQJWKHFXOWXUH,WLVQ¶W
anyone on the senior team. It's how our
people behave and the actions they take
WKDWGH¿QHWKHFXOWXUH´
Even as Ardent Mills strengthens its
corporate identity, Dye said the company continues to enjoy a "very positive" relationship with its three owners
- Cargill, Incorporated; CHS, Inc.; and
ConAgra Foods, Inc. He described the
valuable wheat origination capabilities
of CHS as a "highlight of the company's
¿UVW\HDU´&DUJLOOWRRKDVEHHQDKHOS
with origination but also a partner on
food ingredients to similar customers.
"ConAgra Foods is a big customer of
Ardent Mills and also a major partner
in terms of thinking about the consumer differently," Dye said.
ConAgra Foods and Cargill each own
44% of Ardent Mills with CHS owning
the remaining 12%. Based on public
¿OLQJVVKDUHKROGHUVLQ$UGHQW0LOOVUHceived a total of about $177 million in
dividend payments following the comSDQ\¶V¿UVW\HDURIRSHUDWLRQV
While both Horizon Milling and
ConAgra Mills devoted considerable
VXPVWRXSGDWLQJWKHLUÀRXUPLOOVLQUHcent years, Stoufer said Ardent Mills,
as an independent company, is positioned even better in this regard.
"We are committed to reinvesting in
the facilities, making the right investments in the right facilities to help our
customers and help our business," he
said. "The process stops with Ardent
Mills. You aren't competing for capital dollars with other businesses. Today
we say, 'What's right for Ardent Mills?'
and that's the end of the decision."
Dye added, "As Bill says, we're not
competing for dollars with ConAgra
Foods or Cargill, but we are competing
among a lot of projects within our business. We still have to have priorities."
Just 15 months old as an enterprise,
Ardent Mills announced in August its
LQWHQW WR SXUFKDVH WKH 0RQGHOH] ÀRXU

mill in Mississauga, Ontario. This
transaction closed on Sept. 1 and repUHVHQWVWKHFRPSDQ\¶V¿UVWDFTXLVLWLRQ
and mill in Ontario.
DENVER A GOOD FIT
A year after moving to Denver,
Stoufer and Dye gave Ardent Mills'
chosen new hometown high marks.
The Denver headquarters has more
than 200 team members, about 150
of whom moved from Minneapolis,
Minnesota,
U.S.,
and
Omaha,
Nebraska, U.S. The balance are local,
non-legacy team members.
"All have been very happy, very successful out here," Stoufer said of those
who have moved. "We've had no real
issues with the movement of the people.
"It's been a welcome move. If you
have to move with the business, this
was a good place to move to. Everyone
has their own personal issues, but from
a city perspective, this was a good
place to choose."
Stoufer tipped his cap to local and
state government leaders who have actively worked to help integrate Ardent
Mills into the Denver business community and to become involved in
civic and charitable matters. He said
the business community in Denver has
been "phenomenal" in its welcome of
the company.
³'HQYHU ZDV WKH ULJKW ¿W IRU$UGHQW
Mills," Dye said. "It turned out to be
right on many counts. We talk about the
goodness of grain. This is a great place
from which to tell that story. In a single
day here, we can take someone to see
a grower, to visit a mill and then to the
Ardent Mills Innovation Center once it
is completed at headquarters later this
year. There is this healthy, active lifestyle, openness to innovation and new
ideas and that local feel. There's just a
good energy, a good feel. It has been a
JRRG¿WIRURXUEUDQGRXULGHQWLW\´
A GREAT STORY TO TELL
With the creation of Ardent Mills and
other industry developments, Dye said the
time is right to step up efforts to change
October 2015 / World Grain / www.World-Grain.com

http://www.World-Grain.com

World Grain - October 2015

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of World Grain - October 2015