Dakota Business Lending recently closed an allocation of $7,100,000 in New Markets Tax Credits (NMTC) to support DakotaMB, formerly known as Dakota Specialty Milling, and the expansion of their manufacturing facility in Fargo.
DakotaMB is a family-owned manufacturing company that supplies custom-milled ingredients and wholegrain blends to customers across North America. A new 40,000 square foot production facility is being constructed to expand their Fargo-based operations. It will allow DakotaMB to increase its blending capacity, have warehouse space for products manufactured in the facility, and add a state-of-the-art commercial toasting line. The expansion will also create an additional 12 full-time jobs in addition to their existing 25 full-time employee workforce at their Fargo location.
The expansion project qualified for NMTC financing because it is located in an eligible area in North Dakota. It will also bring high quality jobs for low income and minority populations that include a full benefit package, strong quality wages, training, and job advancement opportunities.
DakotaMB’s expansion project would not be possible without the $7.1 million NMTC allocation from Dakota Business Lending, which helps close a funding gap and ensure that the company can continue to produce high quality products for their customers. The funding from the NMTC program allows the company to move forward immediately with their expansion efforts and begin job creation opportunities without delay. “From the initial process of applying and being rewarded the NMTC through the close of the transaction, we received great guidance with our transaction team, Dakota Business Lending, and the lead bank to make this a success for our organization,” explained Peter Matthaei, Chief Executive Officer at Dakota Specialty Milling. “Dakota Business Lending provided us with excellent up-front education on the program that allowed us to thoroughly evaluate the program and ensure that it was the right fit for DakotaMB.”
Dakota Business Lending’s NMTC allocation for this project was monetized by selling the tax credits to an investor in exchange for 7 years of income tax credits as provided by the program. The actual investment from the allocation into the project ends up around 17-20% after selling the tax credits and cost of financing.
DakotaMB will be delivering a $50,000 “pay-it-forward” donation to the Peltier Complex, which is currently under construction at the North Dakota State University (NDSU) campus. This state-of-the-art facility will support a wide range of research, including food science, as well as the development of new agricultural products. “We are very excited to invest in this project as it will help attract talent to Fargo in the space of agriculture, cereal science, meat science, milling, crop research, and many other ag related industries,” explained Peter Matthaei, Chief Executive Officer at Dakota Specialty Milling. “Not only that, but this facility will draw companies from around the world to partner with NDSU and the Northern Crops Institute to develop new products, do research, and train their staff.” The pay-it-forward concept is part of Dakota Business Lending and the NMTC program’s effort to maximize and spread the economic impact of NMTC projects.
Dakota Business Lending allocated their full $30 million NMTC allocation in 11 months to four qualifying expansion projects throughout the state and were awarded an additional $30 million in NMTC funds in late October 2022. They currently have several projects in the pipeline for consideration, as well as an application in progress for the next round of funding.
About DakotaMB
DakotaMB is a family-owned specialty grain miller that has been providing high quality products to customers, employees, and suppliers since 1969. Formerly known as Dakota Specialty Milling, they updated their name and logo in 2022 to better reflect the different businesses they run from Fargo, ND to St. Louis, MI. The company has direct access to locally grown grain, allowing them to purchase premium raw materials for their products and supply to some of the world’s leading wholesale bread, cereal, cracker, granola, and snack producers. Their state-of-the-art facilities focus on milling, blending, and toasting.
About the New Markets Tax Credits Program
The New Markets Tax Credit Program, established by Congress in December 2000, permits individual and corporate taxpayers to receive a non-refundable tax credit against federal income taxes for making equity investments in financial intermediaries known as Community Development Entities (CDEs). CDEs that receive the tax credit allocation authority under the program are domestic corporations or partnerships that provide loans, investments, or financial counseling in low-income urban and rural communities. The tax credit provided to the investor totals 39% of the cost of the investment and is claimed over a seven-year period. The CDEs in turn use the capital raised to make investments in low-income communities. CDEs must apply annually to the CDFI Fund to compete for New Markets Tax Credit Program allocation authority. Since the inception of the NMTC Program, the CDFI Fund has completed 18 allocation rounds and has made 1,461 awards totaling $71 billion in tax allocation authority. This includes $3 billion in Recovery Act Awards and $1 billion of special allocation authority used for the recovery and redevelopment of the Gulf Opportunity Zone. To learn more about the New Markets Tax Credit Program, please visit www.cdfifund.gov/nmtc.