The Gavilon Group LLC has announced plans to build a 40,000/sty fertilizer storage facility in Jamestown, N.D. The facility will be constructed adjacent to Gavilon’s current state-of-the-art grain elevator that has high-speed, high-capacity, 110-car unit loading capabilities. Gavilon said the new fertilizer storage facility will leverage the existing land and rail infrastructure to expand its wholesale fertilizer distribution in North Dakota.
“The addition of a new fertilizer facility in Jamestown expands on the strength of our grain network, which has served area producers for more than 20 years,” said Rich Welding, site manager at the Jamestown facility.
Plans for the new facility include high-speed, 110-car unit train unloading and blending capabilities for nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium. The facility will handle dry fertilizer only, and will require four additional employees for operation. Construction is scheduled to begin in June 2009, with an expected completion date of spring 2010.
“By adding fertilizer storage capacity to the existing facility, we can leverage efficiencies in operations and customer service to meet the needs of the local agriculture community,” added Ron Woods, who leads sales distribution for the company’s northern territory.
Gavilon’s Jamestown elevator was constructed in 1957, and has concrete storage for 900,000 bushels, steel storage for 1.6 million bushels, and total upright storage of 2.5 billion bushels. The facility also has another 2 million bushels of temporary bunker storage, and has a load-out capacity of 55,000 bushels per hour.
Gavilon Grain LLC also made an announcement last week that it has opened a merchandising and distribution office in Barcelona, Spain. The company said this expansion will further develop Gavilon’s wheat and feed grain distribution network worldwide.
“The addition of a Barcelona office will expand on the strengths of Gavilon’s global grain network by leveraging our U.S. asset base, as well as our experience in procuring, shipping and distributing high-quality grains around the world,” said Greg Consort, vice president and general manager of Gavilon’s grain operations.
The recent announcements from Omaha-based Gavilon are just the latest in a string of expansions reported by the company since its inception in June 2008. Gavilon was formed when a group of investors led by Osprey Advisors LP (GM March 31, 2008) purchased the trade and merchandising business of ConAgra Foods Inc., including ConAgra’s fertilizer trading business, grain, agricultural by-products and energy businesses.
In May of this year, Gavilon Fertilizer LLC reported that it had established a South African subsidiary, Gavilon South Africa (Pty) Ltd, in Johannesburg to handle merchandising and distribution in southern and eastern Africa and to expand the company’s merchandising and distribution businesses around the globe in major commodity markets (GM May 25, p. 11).
On May 15, Gavilon Grain, along with DBA Peavey Co., held the grand opening for a new elevator in Moore, Montana. Also in May, Gavilon Grain announced the signing of leases with Ceres Solutions LP for elevators in Whiteside, Cherry Grove, and Pleasant Ridge, Ind.
And in January, Gavilon reported that it had completed the acquisition of nine grain facilities in Texas from Charlie Myers Grain Co. (GM Jan. 12, p. 13).