KENT Corporation will celebrate the grand opening of the Iowa State University KENT Feed Mill and Grain Science Complex on Sept. 8. The family-owned company gave the lead $8-million gift.
“The contribution celebrates a 100-year commitment to the success of generations of people engaged in livestock production and agriculture,” Gage Kent, KENT Corporation Chairman and CEO, said in a release. “KENT is proud to partner with those working to advance new technologies in the feed and grain markets. This complex is a hands-on platform to further advance innovation and sustainability for future leaders in feed and grain processing.”
The 47,000-square-foot complex includes a warehouse and an educational building with an analytical laboratory, pilot plant, a 100-foot-tall concrete milling tower, a 40-foot-tall pelleting plant and 220,000 bushels of steel grain storage with handling and drying systems.
“It is incredibly rewarding to have been part of this project because we at KENT Nutrition Group know it will provide an authentic, challenging and fun learning environment for students and industry professionals,” Mike Gauss, President of KENT Nutrition Group, said in a release. “This industry is intrinsically linked to our everyday lives; teaching that, in this real-world way, will be meaningful to all involved.”
The Iowa State University KENT Feed Mill and Grain Science Complex will help prepare the next generation of workers in related technological advances in efficiency and safety, the release said. A dedication and ribbon cutting at the site of the new facility will begin at 3 p.m. in Ames on Sept. 8.
