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N. Dakota cooperative closes pasta plant, idles 50 workers
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CROSBY, N.D. (AP) — Officials here are trying to find a way to save the Bushel 42 Pasta Co. plant, which brought hope for jobs in the corner of northwestern North Dakota.
Les Knudson, chairman of the cooperative’s board of directors, said most of the plant’s 50 employees were laid off Friday, though a small crew would be kept on for about 10 days to clean up.
Bushel 42 will seek to sell or lease its Crosby plant, company officials said in a prepared statement.
The cooperative, owned by 227 farmers in North Dakota and Eastern Montana, opened the Crosby plant in May last year to make specialty pasta items such as flavored and colored noodles for other food companies. Crosby is a town of about 1,200 people.
Doug Graupe, chairman of Divide County Jobs Development Authority and a farmer-investor in the plant, said Monday that officials have not given up on the plant.
"I think we’re still hoping," he said Monday.
"It’s jobs for the area — that’s why a lot of the farmers invested in it and why we want to see it succeed," Graupe said. "We’ve worked really hard for our community. It seemed like a logical choice because we have so much durum in the area."
Bushel 42 was formed in 1999 as Semolina Specialties, named for the flour ground from durum that is used to make pasta. It took the Bushel 42 name two years later, promoting the idea that it could make 42 pounds of pasta from one bushel of durum.
Officials said the plant would make up to 30 million pounds of pasta a year. It tried various partnerships.
The company two years ago announced a deal with Carrington-based Dakota Growers Pasta Co., in which it paid Dakota Growers to rebuild a Minneapolis pasta plant in Crosby, and Dakota Growers agreed to market its products. In late March, it had a production contract with the American Italian Pasta Co., of Kansas City, Mo.
Company officials said American Italian Pasta Co., agreed to operate the plant on a trial basis, but decided it would not be worthwhile to continue that arrangement.
Bushel 42 cannot operate without a partner, Knudson said.
Chief Executive Officer Keith Olson said the company would continue to seek ways to get a return for its shareholders. He said workers would be paid through their last day on the job.
State Commerce Director Lee Peterson said he did not believe the plant’s location in the far northwestern corner of the state was a factor in its troubles.
"I believe that trying to compete in the pasta business today, even in a small niche market — it’s very difficult to get yourself started down the road," he said.
Peterson said the plant had a community development block grant of about $169,000 for a sewer extension. It also got state help with smaller loans and grants for equipment, he said.
The federal Department of Rural Development announced last year that it was guaranteeing 80 percent of a $2.8 million loan to help the new company buy machinery and equipment.
"If hard work and diligence would have done it, the folks in Crosby would have," Peterson said. "I know that there are ongoing discussions with a wide variety of people as to where they go from here."
Copyright © 2003 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Copyright © The Billings Gazette, a division of Lee Enterprises.
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