Producers in southwest Nebraska will have new markets for their grain, Scoular reports, on top of faster unloading speeds and increased storage thanks to the company’s new high-speed shuttle loading facility.
Completion of the project was celebrated with a grand opening event at the facility in Grainton, Nebraska. Scoular CEO Paul Maass, along with other Scoular leaders and railroad representatives, came together for the ribbon-cutting event.
The facility is the fourth of its kind in southwest Nebraska, including the company’s facility in nearby Venango. The new Grainton shuttle loader provides high-speed loading and unloading capabilities with track capacity for 110 cars. The facility has the capability to receive farmer grain at a rate of 45,000 bushels per hour, while loading out railcars at 60,000 bushels per hour; five times the loadout volume before the upgrade.
Prior to the upgrade, the Grainton facility consisted of a standard elevator with track space for 25 cars that, along with truck transportation, provided farmers access to markets in southwest Nebraska and Colorado.
The ‘vision’ for the new Grainton facility began with Regional Manager Ty Knispel and his desire to put the Perkins County, Nebrasks farmer production onto the 110-car network and supply the world with grains.
At the facility, the Nebraska, Kansas and Colorado Railway (NKCR), provides access to the BNSF mainline, meaning southwest Nebraska farmers have access to places such as Mexico and Texas.
The upgrade has successfully quadrupled track capacity to 110 cars, expanded storage capacity to six million bushels with new twin concrete tanks, added two high-speed receiving legs and two receiving pits, and enhanced sustainability by taking advantage of the fuel efficiency of moving grain by rail compared with by truck.
“Our company thrives on helping farmers and customers succeed, and this facility is a great example of our service to them,” commented Ron Bingham, Scoular Senior Vice President and Grain Division Manager. “With these upgrades, farmers will get in and out quickly, and we know how important that is for them.”
The upgrades follow on from major improvements completed this summer at other company facilities in Pratt and Coolidge in Kansas and in Adrian, Missouri. Those facilities and Grainton make up Scoular’s Midwestern grain handling network which includes over 50 facilities in Missouri, Iowa, Illinois, Kansas, Colorado and Nebraska.
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