Oct. 28, 2021

A project that could become one of the nation’s largest ramen noodle facilities plans to begin some operations before the end of the year in western South Dakota.

California-based Albany Farms has purchased a former oil tank manufacturing facility in Belle Fourche and is in the process of a major conversion to allow it to package and ultimately produce ramen noodles.

“We’re excited by it. It’s part of a journey,” CEO Bill Saller said. “Because of the amount of land available in Belle Fourche, the access to wheat, which is a primary product with ramen – it’s 90 percent flour – so it seemed a fit from that perspective, and the economic development department of Belle Fourche was another factor. They were incredibly accommodating and positive, and it has not been easy.”

The process of turning a former industrial facility into a food processing one is involved, requiring significant infrastructure and equipment, not to mention labor.

Albany Farms also has purchased 23 adjacent acres in addition to the 15 acres the existing 50,000-square-foot building sits on, with rail access, and “ultimately the goal is for that 38 acres to be one of the largest ramen-producing facilities in the country,” Saller said.

The company received a $1.35 million South Dakota Works loan through the Governor’s Office of Economic Development to support the project. A federal grant is helping build a rail spur to support the project.

Albany Farms was founded by a group of food industry veterans in 2017, and its product, which sells under multiple brands such as Panda Signature, has been imported from Southeast Asia until now.

Transportation has become “an absolute nightmare,” Saller said. “Last week, there were 100 vessels in the water (in California), and we know a fair number of them had our product. Delays are not good in our business, and uncertainty is not good in our business.”

It prompted the move to bring more production to the U.S., which ultimately is envisioned in Belle Fourche. That facility will make a brand called Twisted Noodles, which will be labeled prominently as made in South Dakota, Saller said.

“We’re sourcing as much as possible at a local level,” he said.

That includes building a flour mill, “which is very beneficial because the wheat comes in, and we extract the flour, and it pumps into our building, and with the excess, we can use it for energy for the plant or offer it to local farmers for livestock.”

The last phase would be a small packing facility to make it a fully vertically integrated operation.

To start, the company is looking to hire up to 70 people, but at full build-out, the jobs are projected to be “looking at 800, 900 employees,” Saller said. “So it’s fairly substantial.”

The company’s products are sold at Walmart, Target and a number of regional retailers.

“Empty store shelves have educated retailers on not taking risks with certain categories, with importing,” Saller said. “If there’s a challenge, then shelves are empty.”

Albany Farms has started hiring, and “we’re going to pay a living wage. We’re going to be very competitive,” Saller said. “We think word of mouth is going to get out that we treat people well.”

The goal is to be packaging finished ramen cakes by the end of the year in Belle Fourche and then bring on the full manufacturing line in January.

“We want to onshore everything. That’s our goal,” Saller said. “It’s very difficult, but we’re going to work toward that.”