Construction and Operation of a Plant to Produce Corn Masa Flour

Project Manager: Dr. Joan Fulton

The product produced in this new business is corn masa flour for use in tortillas.  Food grade corn, produced by growers in Indiana will be used to produce corn masa flour.  The prospective users or customers of this product are independently owned Mexican restaurants that make their own tortillas.  Market research performed to date has shown that these restaurant owners are looking for corn masa flour that is of consistent, high quality so they can make a top quality tortilla to attract customers to their restaurant. The problem that the users/customers currently face is that they are unable to secure corn masa flour that is of consistent, high quality.   The growers in southwestern Indiana will be able to deliver the consistency of quality through the use of delivery contracts with common varieties being used to ensure consistency of the corn going into the processing plant.  Azteca has a plant in southwestern Indiana which will be a direct competitor.  The technology is not new so other firms from around the country and the world are also competitors. The value created for the producer investors in this corn masa flour plant is another market for corn in the region, potentially increasing the bid prices for corn.  All positive returns for the corn masa flour business are beneficial to the owners, who in most cases are farmers. 

The technical performance parameters of relevance for this project are quantity of corn masa flour as well as quality of the flour.  The ultimate economic performance parameters are return on investment and dividends available to pay shareholders. Intermediate economic performance parameters include positive cash flow to ensure continuous operation and growth in sales as the plant starts up.   Assessment of the market opportunity and development of a business plan has the potential to create significant value for this new potential value-added venture.