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Osage's NFI Iowa "riding the wave of the future"
by Warren Haacke, Press-News Reporter
Joel Yorgey and his business partner Rich Barton are hoping their new company NFI Iowa, LLC located at 603 N. 3rd Street in Osage will catch the "wave of the future" as they follow their business plan.
NFI, which stands for Nutr-e Food Innovation, is a company that is developing food supplements and other related products that will allow major food processors to offer healthier alternatives to their customers. The company will also offer to processors gluten-free products to cater the growing number of people who are allergic to products that contain gluten.
"The city of Osage was clearly the best site for our plant in careful consideration of our criteria," said NFI partners Yorgey and Barton, who looked at several sites in north Iowa. "Mitchell County Economic Development, Osage Development Corporation and the City of Osage were tremendous assets in helping make our plant become a reality."
The Osage City Council approved tax increment financing (TIF) incentives to support the new business. The Osage Development Corporation made 3.97 acres of land and related incentives available for the purpose of bringing the business to Osage.
"NFI Iowa, LLC is an excellent match and compliment to our existing industry base and type of products and services they offer," said ODC President Kevin Kolbet. "Production of these new food-grade products will again brand our community as one which attracts value-added industries in the environmental friendly arena concentrating on health and the 'green revolution' world-wide."
"I got involved with this new venture back in 2005," said Yorgey. "My very good friend, and now partner, Rich Barton told me of a new process for separating starch and proteins from grains. Rich obtained the patent pending process from Texas A&M University and was looking for a location for a processing plant with a research and development center. We formed a joint venture called NFI Iowa, LLC in 2006. We secured our financing in the spring of 2007 and started construction of the 6,500 square foot facility in the fall of 2007. The new company name, NFI Iowa, stands for Nutr-e Food Innovation Iowa. Some of the equipment that we use in my Riceville plant is the same as what we are using in the new Osage plant. We have the same centrifuge for separating solids from liquids and the same type of dryer for drying the products."
Yorgey also owns a business in Riceville, J&L Grain. The business, which was started in 1995, extracts oils from oil seeds. In 1999, J&L Grain made the move to processing only 100% organic grains. Presently, the company processes for several organic companies in the Midwest.
"We do not buy, or sell, organic grains or oils," said Yorgey. "We only process these products for a fee. Our production consists of 99% organic soybeans, while the other 1% is made up of organic sunflowers and organic safflower seeds. The organic meal is shipped to Michigan, Pennsylvania, and California. The oil is shipped to organic refineries in Iowa and California to be refined and used in the organic food industry. Our largest competitor is a processing plant in China, which is shipping organic soybean meal to the USA."
In their new business venture, NFI Iowa, Yorgey and Barton plan to produce proteins and starch from grains.
"We will be starting with two special grains, Amaranth and Quinoa," Yorgey stated. "Both of these grains are gluten free. Our products will be used in foods and by people who are allergic to gluten. We are also working with several other grains and products. We are a food innovation company therefore we are looking to develop many new products from grains. We are also working with special grain grown in the Northwest United States. Products are being developed for the cosmetic industry from that grain."
Yorgey continued, "Currently we have one employee. He is our Chief Technology Officer (CTO). His name is Dr. Temur Yunusov. He earned his doctorate at Moscow State University and came to Texas A&M University in 1998 as a Fulbright Scholar. In 2001 Texas A&M invited Dr. Yunusov to join them as a full time research scientist. During this tenure, Dr. Yunusov developed the patent pending process that has been licensed by Nutr-e Food Innovation. He has also worked for Ocean Nutrition in Canada. NFI Iowa hired Dr. Yunusov as our CTO and he began work in June of 2008.
Yorgey's partner Barton is from Collierville, Tennessee. He will manage the marketing and sales for the company. Yorgey will manage the processing plant and production. The company will have a part time secretary in Tennessee and also one in Riceville.
Rich Barton is the owner of N. Hunt Moore & Associates from Collierville, Tennessee. Rich has his Master's and Bachelor's degree in Agricultural Engineering. He has also worked for several major oil seed processors here in the United States. Rich's family includes his wife Sarah, who is a partner in the business, four sons Aaron, Alex, Andrew, and Adam, an adopted daughter from China, Adriana, and adopted son, Aidan, will join them in February from China.
"Presently we are doing research and making some small production runs," said Yorgey. "We are sending out our products to potential customers and are hopefully developing our future markets."
Yorgey continued, "One thing we want to stress is that we are developing a "new" market. We are not trying to compete with the larger existing food companies. Our products offer the food processors and consumer new and healthier alternatives in nutrition.
"Right now we have three major goals for our company," said Dr. Yunusov. "We are doing research which will lead to our being able to actually process our products. Secondly, we are working on formulation of products and our business plan. Thirdly, we are doing consulting work for food companies in order to help both the company and our business in utilizing our products."
One unique feature of NIF Iowa's is the development of oils and protein products to be used in the cosmetic industry.
"Many cosmetic companies are looking for products to fit our skin," said Yunusov. "By that, I mean more natural oils and proteins that will be healthier for us. We think we have products that will allow cosmetic producers to do that."
"Our business hours are Monday - Friday from 9 a.m. - 4 p.m., said Yorgey. "We hope to start small-scale production in the late spring of 2009. We will be hiring around 7-8 employees at that time. Six or seven employees will work in the production line and possibly one employee will assist Dr. Yunusov in the research department."
Yorgey contined, "Our future plans for the company are to add a specialty oil extraction plant here in Osage and possibly add other production plants in other regions of the USA."
Yorgey grew up on a farm in Eastern Pennsylvania in the small town of Pricetown
He went to Oley Valley High School and was involved in marching band, concert band, and basketball and graduated in 1970. He then attended vo ag school and studied machine tool and die casting.
He also worked with his father on the family farm after graduation from high school. The farm was a large grain, hog, and poultry operation, which at one time employed 31 people. Yorgey worked there from 1970 - 1990.
When the farming operation was sold, Yorgey and his wife Linda moved to Riceville in October of 1990. They started a grain processing business in Riceville with a portable grain roaster before expanding to the organic grain processing business in 1995.
Yorgey's family includes his wife Linda, who is also a partner in the business, and his daughter Marissa, who is 17 years old and a junior at Riceville High School.
In his free time Yorgey enjoys skiing with his daughter. "We enjoy skiing in northern Minnesota on the Lutsen Mountains," said Yorgey. "We have also skied in Pennsylvania, New York, and Vermont. I also enjoy traveling with my wife and daughter. We have traveled here in the US and we went to Thailand several years ago. We recently traveled to Prince Edward Island."
Yorgey continued, "I have also traveled alone to Europe, Holland, and France and recently traveled with my partner Rich Barton to Argentina to look at and consult with oil processing plants there."
"My wife and I work with our church youth group as well," Yorgey said. "In my free time I enjoy grilling, watching the Food Channel, and watching the Fox News Channel."
"Everyone involved in NFI Iowa is truly excited about the future," said Yorgey. "Because of the products we are offering, we think it's a win-win situation for everyone involved, including Osage and the surrounding area."
Story created Jan 12, 2009 - 16:35:33 CST.
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