AGT Food and Ingredients (AGT Foods) is one of the largest suppliers of value-added pulses, staple foods and food ingredients in the world with approximately $3 billion in sales. Having started in 2000, it’s grown from a single location in Canada to an international company with more than 40 locations worldwide. Three of the locations are in North Dakota: one in Williston and two in Minot. They’re making an impact in the state that goes beyond sales.
In 2007, AGT opened a facility in Williston, North Dakota, where they process peas and lentils into whole, split products and package them in bulk for distribution. Then in 2012, a milling facility was established in Minot, North Dakota. There they mill flours, proteins, starches and fibres and work with major food companies to incorporate pea, lentil and chickpea proteins into its food products. All these products are distributed worldwide.
“We’re not going to get people to eat split pea soup, but I can guarantee you they’ll eat that chip with the peas in it because it’s something they’re used to, and it gives them the taste and texture that they want. We’ve made pulses convenient to where you can eat them in many different forms and enjoy the nutritional benefits,” AGT Foods Division Head for Global Food Ingredients Eric Bartsch shared about the company’s innovative approach.
To expand that innovation and technology, AGT Foods recently worked with Senior Vice President and Commercial Banking Manager Zach Burdick from First Western Bank & Trust to fund a second facility in Minot: a gluten-free pasta factory. A vacant building was renovated for the factory and pasta equipment was added. The Minot factory is the first of its kind not only in the company, but in the world for its size, scale and contribution to how they’re transforming pulses. It was a large project and provides new opportunities for AGT Foods and its team.
When it comes to building the right funding deal for the project, Burdick said, “BND’s PACE Loan Program was a perfect fit given the business expansion and future job creation. The interest buydown function of this program has proven even more important in a rising interest rate environment. Jackie Duke at BND was instrumental in this process and was able to roll in the North Dakota Department of Agriculture’s Agriculture Diversification & Development (ADD) Fund to increase the interest buydown commitment. The ADD Fund was a perfect fit as well given its mission for value-added agriculture.”
Bartsch added, “One of the biggest futures of our company is this process that we developed to produce gluten-free pasta. The fact that we’ve proved it out and are working with our partners, First Western Bank, Bank of North Dakota, the city of Minot and others means we can make a much bigger investment to expand the capacity and take us to the next level. We’re poised to greatly expand and add multiple product lines within this building and the infrastructure. To me, it’s going to be a world-renowned facility for gluten-free. Today gluten-free products are often imported from Europe because there’s little ability to produce it in North America. We’re going to change that now and really become a big player in producing gluten-free pasta.”
To get the factory up and running, AGT brought in 25 employees, and that number continues to grow. The employees have been recruited from Minot and all over the world, including California, Washington, Africa and even Turkey. In North Dakota, AGT has approximately 175 employees.
BND Business Banker Jackie Duke said, “AGT Foods is paying a livable wage, so they’re getting people to move from out of state to make a career for themselves. It’s kind of a domino effect that Bank of North Dakota, the city of Minot, First Western Bank & Trust and other partners have helped fund the project, but really AGT is helping the whole community so much. The employees are spending their dollars in the community, which is a much larger dollar amount than the buydown dollars toward the loan. AGT is also getting their raw materials from local producers.”
AGT strategically locates its facilities near quality growers and has a mission of “from producer to the world.” This strategy makes North Dakota a perfect fit.
