First Milling Company announces US$32M expansion at Al Qassim plant

SAUDI ARABIA – First Milling Company (First Mills), a leading player in Saudi Arabia’s flour milling industry, has unveiled plans to construct a new flour milling unit, Mill C, at its Al Qassim plant.

With an investment of SAR 123 million (US$32.76 million), the company’s board has approved this new development aimed at boosting its production capacity significantly.

Mill C is set to enhance the plant’s wheat milling capacity by 600 tonnes per day, marking a 66% increase and bringing the total capacity to 1,500 tonnes per day.

According to the board, the project will be executed by Bühler, a renowned technology partner based in Uzwil, Switzerland.

Construction is slated to commence in the first quarter of 2025, pending regulatory approvals, with completion expected by the second quarter of 2026. A subsequent 60-day pilot phase will precede the start of commercial production.

First Mills, established in 2017 following the privatization of the General Food Security Authority (GFSA), operates four strategically located, large-capacity mills in Jeddah, Qassim, Tabuk, and Al-Ahsa, covering all major regions of the Kingdom.

This strategic expansion aligns with First Mills’ objectives to enhance production capacity and strengthen its market leadership. The additional capacity will enable the company to meet increasing demand, expand into new geographical regions, attract new customers, and deliver greater value to shareholders.

“This expansion reflects the company’s strategic initiatives to enhance production capacity and reinforce its market leadership. The additional capacity will enable the company to meet increasing demand, expand into new geographical regions, attract new customers, and deliver greater value to shareholders,” First Mills said.

In addition to the Al Qassim project, First Mills has completed the upgrade and modernization of Mill A at its largest plant in Jeddah, also in partnership with Bühler.

This expansion increased Mill A’s production capacity from 300 tonnes per day to 550 tonnes per day, raising the Jeddah plant’s overall capacity to 3,050 tonnes per day. Notably, a previously planned upgrade for the Jeddah plant’s Mill B has been replaced by the Mill C project at the Al Qassim plant.

These developments come amid significant changes in Saudi Arabia’s flour milling sector. The General Food Security Authority (GFSA) has recently approved allowing licensed flour milling companies to export flour to global markets, provided that only a fixed percentage of surplus production capacities is exported to ensure local market needs are met.

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