International Raw Materials Ltd. (IRM) is in the process of moving out of the Port of Sacramento, where it has stored fluid grade ammonium sulfate for the last two years. The company leased a 4,000-5,000 st storage bin at that location.
An IRM source told Green Markets the move was prompted by the Sacramento Port Authority’s decision to cut back on the hours of operation at the port. “They didn’t have the business there to provide labor on a regular basis,” he said.
IRM stressed that it is not exiting the ammonium sulfate market in California, and will continue to store regular and fluid grade ammonium sulfate at its Chico warehouse, which is less than 100 miles from Sacramento. IRM also leases a 45,000 st terminal for UAN storage at the Port of Stockton (GM Oct. 5, 2009).
Headquartered in Philadelphia, IRM has been in business for more than 30 years, marketing liquid and dry fertilizer products throughout the western U.S. and western Canada. According to its Web site, IRM has distribution assets in key strategic locations around the world, and the company sources its products from a variety of producers, including ammonium sulfate products from Canadian mining companies Teck Resources Ltd. and Sherritt International Corp., and UAN-32 from Dyno Nobel and CF Industries.
In addition to its Chico and Stockton locations, IRM also has California terminals at Modesto and Edison. The company has some 17 warehouse locations in the Pacific Northwest, along with seven throughout Western Canada.
Other ammonium sulfate wholesale suppliers in the California market include Yara North America Inc., the J.R. Simplot Co., and Agrium Inc.