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As part of the agreement, Richardson has acquired the following:

•  Milling facility in St. Louis, Missouri
• Storage and crop inputs facilities in Tolley, Powers Lake, and Benedict, North Dakota
• Merchandising office, Mayco Export, Inc., in Minneapolis, Minnesota

 A team of over 100 employees will join the broader Richardson network.

Italgrani USA President James Meyer says the acquisition is an important milestone for the company. “Our team is excited about the completion of this transaction and looks forward to joining the Richardson group of companies. We are confident that new opportunities will drive further innovation and growth in Italgrani’s business.”

“We are excited to further diversify our processing operations – building on the success of both our value-added canola crushing and oat milling businesses – and expand our grain origination capabilities in a new marketplace,” says Curt Vossen (President and CEO, Richardson International). “The U.S. is a natural fit for Richardson’s long-term growth strategy and we are proud of our history investing in and supporting the communities where our customers and employees live and work. We will continue in this tradition as we welcome all new employees into the fold.”

The acquisition follows a series of investment announcements from Richardson earlier this year, including the doubling of its Yorkton oilseed processing plant along with grain handling and milling facility expansion projects across Western Canada and abroad. In recent years, the Italgrani milling facility underwent a significant expansion to improve efficiencies and increase capacity by over 40%. Richardson will continue to look for opportunities to inject further capital into all newly acquired assets.

About Richardson International

Richardson International Limited is Canada’s largest agribusiness and is recognized as a global leader in agriculture and food processing. Based in Winnipeg, Manitoba, the company is a worldwide handler and merchandiser of all major Canadian-grown grains and oilseeds and a vertically-integrated processor and manufacturer of oats and canola-based products. Over the past two decades, Richardson has become a significant player in the global food business, producing a wide variety of food products and ingredients for the retail, food service, and industrial markets. One of Canada’s Best Managed Companies, Richardson continues to grow, thanks to the dedication and innovative spirit of over 2,900 employees worldwide.

About Italgrani USA

Italgrani USA is the largest semolina and durum flour miller in North America, supported by award-winning grain elevator services in North Dakota and full-service grain merchandising in Minnesota. Situated along the Mississippi River, their mill and state-of-the-art grain unloading, storage, and barge loading facility are connected to all major railways for efficient distribution year-round. While headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri, the Italgrani facilities are strategically located across U.S. farm country, where American growers produce the highest quality durum and other in-demand grains. For more information, visit www.italgraniusa.com.

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For more information, contact:

Kelcey Vossen

Communications and Public Relations

kelcey.vossen@richardson.ca

P: +1 204 934 4118

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Here are three key factors for manufacturers to consider when seeking out a U.S. miller of semolina and durum flour.

Expertise

Expertise in any ingredient comes from experience and deep knowledge of the supply chain and production processes. Food brands benefit most from millers who comprehend how their grains and flours are used in a wide range of applications. Formulators need suppliers who understand the inputs and outputs of commercial scale food production.

Operating since 1979, Italgrani USA has grown into the largest miller of semolina and durum flours in North America. In that time, we’ve developed an intricate, vertically integrated supply chain and achieved efficiencies through investments in technology and maintaining direct relationships with wheat growers. Our experienced management team sources grain from all over North America, providing our customers a consistent, cost-effective supply of semolina and durum ingredients.

Our expertise means we can accommodate nearly any specification for granulations, packaging formats, and custom blends. Whether it’s semolina for pasta or extra fancy patent durum flour for snacks and cereals, manufacturers trust Italgrani’s experience in semolina and durum.

Capability

A consistent sensory experience is essential to a food brand’s success. To achieve consistency and quality in finished products, commercial food manufacturers who use semolina and durum flours need ingredients that meet exact specifications and are available in specific packaging and transportation options.

To this end, Italgrani operates a mill exclusively dedicated to processing semolina and durum flours with consistent quality and performance. This highly specialized focus translates to deep, specific understanding of these products across the entire team. This depth of knowledge enables us to provide a wide range of organic or conventional semolina, patent, and extra fancy patent flours in 50 lb. bags to totes and bulk via truck, boxcar, railcar, and intermodal transportation.

In particular, Italgrani’s organic flour capabilities are unparalleled. In 2015, Ecocert ICO certified Italgrani to produce organic semolina. We offer organic semolina and flour products in bulk quantities, totes, and 50 lb. bags by the truckload.

Capacity

In addition to having strong expertise and capabilities, commercial food manufacturers look for millers with the capacity to help them scale growth. Food brands that are experiencing high demand require suppliers with capacity to produce dependable ingredients at high volume. A milling partner should have broad geographic reach and the ability to grow to meet rising sales.

To this end, Italgrani has invested in expanding our production capacity. A recent expansion increased our mill’s production by 40% and integrated state-of-the-art technology to optimize efficiencies. With a daily capacity of 28,000 cwt, our mill, U.S. Durum Milling, is the largest semolina and durum mill on the continent.

At Italgrani, we work every day with industry-leading manufacturers of pasta, bakery, snack, and cereal applications. Whether it’s a railcar of conventional durum flour or a truckload of bagged organic semolina, we specialize in customizing our products to meet specific standards of granulation, gluten strength, and many other factors.

If you’re looking to work with an expert miller of semolina and durum flours, don’t hesitate to reach out to us. We have the expertise, capability, and capacity to deliver semolina and durum products to meet your needs.

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The USDA conducts a rigorous review of farms and processors to certify that their products are produced using organic practices. In the case of grains, farmers and millers must submit an application through a USDA-accredited certifying agent and pass an on-site compliance inspection. At Italgrani, we continually review and invest in our practices to maintain our status as an industry leader in the milling and sourcing of organic durum and semolina.

These practices include:

• Ensuring grain is sourced from reliable, approved North American farms and suppliers
• Requiring source documents to prove the grain’s provenance
• Regular audits of policies and procedures of our sourcing partners
• Tracing grain transport to our St. Louis, Missouri facility
• Creating separate, physical boundaries at our facility between conventional and organic grains with segregated storage containers
• Developing an Organic System Plan (OSP) at our milling operations for consistent identification of organic products
• Strict manufacturing processes through final delivery of organic grain
• Annual review with our USDA-accredited certifying agency to ensure our processes meet or exceed federal compliance guidelines

With organic, it comes down to trust. Consumers need to be able to trust organic food labels. Therefore, we want to know with certainty that the organic grain we buy is truly organic. So, we make it a priority to maintain close relationships with our farmers and suppliers to safeguard the integrity of the grain. These relationships afford us the access needed to verify that our suppliers are following established procedures for organic farming.

We take this responsibility very seriously. Our customers, and consumers in general, rely on us to ensure that our products are authentically organic. That’s why we’ve built careful, controlled processes for sourcing and milling organic grain.

From organic pastas to pizza doughs, organic flours have countless formulation possibilities. However, not every miller is certified organic or can meet the bulk-sourcing needs of large-scale production. As specialists in durum, Italgrani offers several bulk options for organic durum flour and semolina, including:

• Organic Durum Semolina
• Organic Durum Patent and Extra Fancy Patent (EFP) Flour
• Organic Second Clear
• Organic Midds and Pelletized Midds

Italgrani’s organic ingredients solutions are available in bulk and totes, by rail or truck, and in 50 lb. bags. Contact us to find out more about Italgrani’s certified organic durum flours and everything we’re doing to help food brands establish trust with organic consumers.

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Jeff will be focusing on the sales of durum semolina and durum patent flours. Prior to joining US Durum Milling, Jeff worked in the consumer goods industry in supply chain and sales roles for over eight years. Jeff is a graduate of Rockhurst University in Kansas City, Missouri.

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During this certification cycle, Italgrani USA has upgraded its system to the latest version (version 4.1) of the standards.  This upgrade reinforces our commitment to not only meeting the needs and expectations of our customers, but also continuously improving upon our quality system beyond what is required.

Italgrani’s Quality Control department maintains an active role in industry associations to ensure we are always up to date with current regulatory and industry standards and expectations.  Our personnel are certified by prominent organizations in food safety including NSF, FSPCA, Neogen, and ASQ, in addition to others.

We operate a state-of-the-art in-house laboratory housing modern analytical equipment and staffed by experienced and certified technicians.  This laboratory has been drastically expanded and upgraded during the expansion of our facility.  From incoming wheat to final products, granulation to color, our lab is fully equipped to ensure that the highest quality products leave our facility and reach our customers every time.

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