Diamond V Mills' new $25 million manufacturing plant in southwest Cedar Rapids is the company's second plant in Cedar Rapids. Governor Chet Culver attended the grand opening and was asked to officially open the plant by starting the production line in the new facility.
John Bloomhall, president and chief executive officer of Diamond V
Mills, said the 64,000-square-foot plant at 2575 60th Ave. SW is
unusual in the fermented nutritional products industry.
"We’re one of the few companies in our industry with plants that
have HACCP (hazard analysis critical control point) certification,”
Bloomhall said. “We believe very strongly in the safety of the food
supply.
"We have sized our bins for bioterrorism so that every truckload is
its own batch. God forbid that we would ever have a recall, but it
would greatly aid us in that respect.”
Diamond V Mills, with about 90 employees, has operated a plant at
436 G Ave. NW for 65 years. The new $25 million manufacturing facility
will enable Diamond V to meet growing demand for its nutritional
products in all species of animals and aquaculture.
"Every product we sell is made in Cedar Rapids,” Bloomhall said.
“This expansion is not only driven by demand in the United States, but
also demand in China, Europe, Mexico and wherever we sell our products.”
Diamond
V Mills' new $25 million manufacturing plant in southwest Cedar Rapids.
Bloomhall said quality control is critical at Diamond V’s new plant.
Automated control systems monitor incoming raw ingredients and the
manufacturing process. The facility also is equipped with
state-of-the-art drying systems and technology to ensure product
consistency.
"It’s been a tremendous job by our team and all of our vendors to
pull this together,” Bloomhall said. “This facility is designed to
greatly improve our efficiency with raw materials coming in the west
end of the plant and finished product leaving the east end.”
Diamond V’s corporate headquarters is located within a proposed
“green space” area intended to mitigate future flooding. Bloomhall said
the plant on 60th Avenue SW is located on 77 acres of land that could
accommodate a new headquarters building should that become necessary.
Diamond V operates a research facility at Kirkwood Community College
in addition to two manufacturing facilities in Cedar Rapids. A
subsidiary, Embria Health Sciences, opened a $10 million corporate
headquarters and human dietary supplement plant in Ankeny in 2007.