Our History
Star of the West Milling Company was founded over 150 years ago by Johann Matthias Hubinger in Frankenmuth, Michigan. The Hubinger family had a 200 year history of milling in Germany, prior to arriving in Michigan.
In 1870, Johann M. Hubinger founded the Star of the West Roller Mills, with a steam-powered mill located on Tuscola Street in Frankenmuth. The company was named after the Star of the West American merchant steamship launched in 1852, which was fired upon by confederate forces while secretly commissioned by the U.S. government to provide supplies to Fort Sumter.
In 1903, Star of the West was purchased from the Hubinger family by a group of farmers. In 1911 those owners built a new plant at the corner of Hubinger and Tuscola street, where it remains today.
The partnership remained until July 1929 when it became a corporation and the name was changed to Star of the West Milling Company.
Star of the West Milling Company has continued to grow over the years. It has expanded from one mill to five flour mills today, in four different states. In addition to flour, Star of the West has a quality cleaned wheat facility and ready-to-eat flaking plant at their Frankenmuth location.
Expanding beyond flour, Star of the West now has divisions including agronomy, bean processing (dry edible beans and food-grade soybeans), elevators accepting corn and soybeans in addition to the wheat and dry beans mentioned, and an organic division.
The elevator division has over 30 elevators across multiple states.
The bean processing division includes dry edible beans and food grade soybeans. The food grade soybean plants are in Charlotte and Fairgrove, Michigan, and offer contracts for farmers to grow either conventional soybeans or natto beans.
Our organic division, Everbest Organics, has locations in Munger, Michigan; McCanna, North Dakota; and St. Hilaire, Minnesota. Conventional soybeans are processed in Reese, Michigan. These locations process dry beans including, but not limited to, black, navy and pinto.
