About Us
Brief History
Great Plains Analytical Laboratory, Inc. (GPAL) is a privately held, employee-owned, analytical laboratory founded in 1993 as a response to a need in the grain, flour, baking and food industries for a high level of service, response time and expertise. In 2012, the Lab moved from its original location to a much larger facility with an increased emphasis in food safety, and in 2015, GPAL completed a multi-million-dollar expansion of the Microbiology Lab.
About Our Staff
GPAL is staffed by experienced cereal chemists, microbiologists and technical personnel familiar with the food industry in general and the flour and grain industry in particular. The Laboratory functions at a high level of precision, accuracy and professionalism. With nearly two hundred years of combined experience in the microbiology, milling, baking, cereal chemistry and food science fields, our staff is the ultimate resource for practical answers to your questions.
Key Personnel
- John Fontana: VP of Lab Services
- B.S. Bakery Science and Management, Kansas State University
- 40 years of experience
- Gretchen Stewart: VP of Sales & Marketing
- M.B.A. University of Phoenix
- M. S. Agricultural Economics, Kansas State University
- B.S. General Science, Fort Hays State University
- 40+ years of experience
- Rich Kendrick: Business Development – Food Safety & Quality
- B.A. Political Science, Southwestern College, Kansas State University
- AIB International, Science of Baking
- 32 years of experience
- Anthony Vagnino: Business Development – Food Safety & Quality
- B.S. Food Technology, Colorado State University
- International HACCP Alliance Instructor
- Food Safety Preventive Controls Alliance Certified
- GFSI Programs SQF, PrimusGFS
- 35+ years of experience
- Sarah Madigan: QC Director
- B.S. Food Science Kansas State University
- 15 years of experience
- Al Avila: HPLC Director
- Ph.D. Analytical Chemistry, Iowa State University
- B.S. Chemistry Kansas State University
- 32 years of experience
- James DeVault: Microbiology Director
- B.S. Biology University of Illinois at Chicago
- Ph.D. Microbiological Sciences University of Illinois at Chicago
- FSPCA Preventative Controls for Human Food
- 25+ years of experience
- Heidi Decker: Microbiology Manager
- B.S. Biology Avila University
- FSPCA Controls for Animal Food
- 15 +years of experience
About Our Services
This high service laboratory is famous for its rapid turnaround time on most analyses. Providing a full range of analytical services that include Proximate Analyses, Physical Dough Testing, Bake Testing and Product Evaluation, Grain and Flour Analyses, Physical Tests, Mycotoxins, Pesticide Residues, Microbiology, Shelf-Life Studies, Vitamins and Minerals and Nutritional Labeling makes Great Plains Analytical Laboratory a “one stop shop” for quality testing.
The Crop Quality Survey performed by GPAL is the only one of its kind in the United States. Field personnel follow each wheat harvest, picking up samples across 20 states and ship them to GPAL where they are analyzed and the results published daily on our website. Thousands of tests are performed on both the wheat and the flour to evaluate the quality of the three classes of wheat across the US. This subscription-based Survey provides invaluable information on domestic crop quality to virtually any flour or grain user worldwide, be they grain buyers, flour millers, or bakers. No other report provides such a wealth of information in this expedited timeframe of the crop quality for all of these geographical areas. GPAL is proud to provide our subscribers the time-critical data they require to make profitable purchasing and marketing decisions for the current year. (See more information on our Crop Survey page.)
