THE WOODLANDS, TEXAS, U.S. — RiceBran Technologies said it has experienced a significant increase in milling capacity at its Golden Ridge Rice Mills operation in Wynne, Arkansas, U.S., following debottlenecking projects put in place in September.

In September, RiceBran completed the installation of new processing, milling and grading equipment designed to achieve a significant increase in milling volume per hour while producing a higher yield of more valuable milled products. The upgrades are expected to boost revenue, lead to higher margins and help absorb fixed costs, the company said.

RiceBran also said it plans to install two additional pieces of production equipment at the site later this month.

“We are pleased with the progress made since we reinitiated operations on Thursday, Sept. 26 after the two-week installation process for this new equipment,” said Brent R. Rystrom, president and chief executive officer of RiceBran Technologies. “While we are still early in our operational ramp, our production volumes are up multi-fold from where we have been the last several months, quality is much improved, and we are experiencing a sharp enhancement in our product grading capabilities. All of this should lead to significantly higher sales, better cost absorption, as well as much improved margins and EBITDA at both Golden Ridge and RiceBran Technologies.”

RiceBran acquired the assets and operations of Golden Ridge Rice Mills’ rice milling and rice bran stabilization facility in Wynne, Arkansas, in November 2018.