QUINCY, Mich. – One of the nation’s largest milling companies with locations that include southern Michigan and northern Indiana will start grinding corn for the first time.

Star of the West Milling Co. has unveiled plans to build a six-story, $79 million corn milling facility in Michigan at the site of its wheat milling operation in Quincy that closed in January.

According to company officials, the former mill – originally constructed in 1863 – along with a warehouse, will be torn down to make way for the new facility with the ability to process up to 21,000 bushels of corn daily.

The new operation will also feature a new feed storage and loadout structure, a bulk truck and rail loadout facility and tote-filling capacity.

One of the reasons cited for the investment was because Michigan does not have a corn milling plant, despite the state annually producing about 340 million bushels of corn, and demand for a variety of food-grade corn products.

Mike Fassezke, president of the company’s flour milling division, said the corn mill represents a chance to expand customer base and serve existing buyers of their wheat flour that also make food products with corn.

The firm, headquartered in Frankenmuth, Mich., already has elevators at multiple locations to store and ship corn purchased from area growers.

“We considered the significant amount of corn that we already receive from our local farmers and saw an opportunity to add additional value beyond just aggregating and shipping out of state,” he said.

Star of the West Milling Co. also has locations in Ohio, New York, North Dakota and Minnesota.

Karina Spencer, executive vice-president of the flour milling division, said the new mill is also an opportunity to meet demand in areas they plan to offer grinded corn.

“Currently, all U.S. dry corn mills are located west or south of our expected market. Our market research would suggest that we can provide a significant logistic advantage to in-state corn ingredient users and customers based in the northeast quadrant of the U.S.,” she said.

The company also processes dry beans and provides agronomy services along with grain handling and merchandising.

Star of the West CEO Jim Howe called the project “an intentional step forward in meeting our strategic objective of partnering with producers and food processors with the goal of feeding the world.  Our business model will continue to focus on diversity and vertical integration within the ag sector.”

Seventeen new jobs are projected from the investment.

Star of the West is the 10th largest miller in the U.S and, in 2015, received the Exporter of the Year Award from the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development.

The new venture comes less than a year after the company shut down wheat mills in Quincy and in Ligonier, Ind., about 70 miles away.

Production at those plants was merged into a new facility in Ligonier that can produce up to 2 million pounds of flour a day or about twice as much as both former operations combined, according to company officials.

A majority of their flour is shipped in bulk to larger makers of cookies, donuts, cake mixes and other similar products within a 300-mile radius of each mill.

The company, which also provides ready-to-eat wheat flakes, was founded over 150 years ago in Frankenmuth in what was then a small steam-powered mill.

Its agronomy division consists of more than 30 certified crop advisers that work directly with farmers. Construction of the new mill is expected to be finished in 2028.