Become an End-to-End Expert on an Entire Industry
I never thought about flour milling as a career choice. I had never really even thought about how flour was made. When I applied for my first job in milling, it was kind of a shot in the dark after having worked in other food manufacturing industries.
Within minutes of starting a plant tour after an interview though, I knew I had found the perfect fit. I was used to a suit-and-tie corporate and managerial culture that seemingly consisted of people who weren’t necessarily passionate about what they did; they just wanted a really good job with a really good title, working for a really big company.
Flour milling was, and is, the exact opposite of that. I love the sense of normalcy that I feel exists within the flour milling industry. As someone who grew up in rural America around agriculture, it’s refreshing to work alongside a lot people with similar backgrounds and values, even at the corporate level (in blue jeans, of course). What I enjoy the most, though, is the passion around the industry.
To so many people, wheat and its byproducts are a borderline obsession. They know, and passionately support and discuss, every aspect of the process from the farm to the table. This big-picture focus leads people toward becoming end-to-end experts on an entire industry. Unlike many industries where careers tend to end up in functional silos, flour milling provides every opportunity to understand and actively contribute to every function.
– John Kemp
3 years as Supervisor, Pack Supervisor, Production Manager, Assistant Plant Manager
