Rice processor aims for greater efficiency

The Texas-based company broke ground last week on a new state-of-the-art rice processing and packaging plant and on-site warehouse and distribution center in Memphis, Tennessee. The new 400,000 square-foot facility, which is on a 31-acre site adjacent to Riviana's existing operations in Memphis, should be completed in mid-2010, the company said. The new facility will employ 300 people, an increase of 121 employees. The company did not say how much the new facility would cost. Riviana, which owns a wide variety of rice brands across the US, said the new facility was necessary to meet growing demand. "Development of the new facility will help us reach our goal of transforming Riviana into the world's most efficient, technically advanced rice company,"​ said Bastiaan de Zeeuw, Riviana's president and chief executive officer. "In addition to its central geographic location, this state-of-the-art facility will allow us to reduce our cost for processing, packaging, storage and distribution and will provide important economies of scale." ​ Riviana Foods has been a leading supplier of rice to the US market since1911, and today accounts for 22 per cent of all retail rice sales in volume terms, making it, it claims, the US market leader. The new facility in Memphis will allow the company to generate considerable economies of scale, with the Success and Minute brands of instant rice that are currently packaged in Houston transferring to the new site. The existing Memphis facility is already the home of the company's flagship Mahatma, Water Maid, Carolina and River rices, and will also take on the responsibility for packaging and shipping the group's main private label brands as well. Riviana is owned by Spain's Ebro Pulva group, the world's biggest rice processor. The Texan company and its parent are keen to tap into the current whole grain trend, which has been driven by interest in the healthy attributes of products such as brown rice. Whole grains consist of any grain that has retained its starchy endosperm, fiber-rich bran and its germ after milling, and which can provide vitamins, minerals and high levels of antioxidants. The grains have also been shown to help reduce the risk factors for a number of diseases, including heart disease, cancer and diabetes. On the back of this new science, the US government advised in its 2005 Dietary Guidelines that Americans should consume upwards of three ounce-equivalents of whole grain products per day. Riviana's most popular brand, Mahatma, stresses the health aspects of its brown rice. "Mahatma rice is a naturally delicious, low glycemic index, complex carbohydrate. It fuels your body with energy to keep you going over a longer period of time,"​ the company claims on its website. "Rice is loaded with all eight essential amino acids, important B-complex vitamins (thiamine, riboflavin, niacin), as well as phosphorus, iron, and potassium." ​ Currently, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) permits foods containing at least 51 per cent whole grains by weight and are low in total fat, saturated fat, and cholesterol to carry a health claim linking them to a reduced risk of heart disease and certain cancers.