Agricultural Solutions LLC, the start-up company that announced plans in May to build a fertilizer terminal on the Mississippi River in Osceola, Ark., says construction of the 35,000-40,000 ton dry facility will begin this fall for a scheduled completion in Autumn 2011.
Don Opal, one of the company’s two owners, told Green Markets in May (GM May 31, p. 1) that construction was likely to begin in August on a dry fertilizer blending and distribution facility on 44 acres of barge-accessible land that it owns in Osceola. Michael Brito-Amador, the other owner of the company, said last week that groundbreaking has been pushed back to Fall 2010. Brito-Amador said he has assumed all responsibilities for the company, and that Opal is taking a hiatus due to health issues.
“My partner’s health in no way has deterred our vision or our ability for this facility to be built,” Brito-Amador told Green Markets. “I want to proceed with caution and I only want to build it once. I don’t want to build something that is too big or too small, or is inefficient, so I’ve slowed the process down slightly. I don’t want to rush to put this building up just to be operational by Spring 2011.”
Brito-Amador said Agricultural Solutions expects to be selling products out of the terminal by the end of next year, and to be well positioned to supply farmers and dealers in northeastern Arkansas with fertilizer products for the 2012 spring planting season. He expects to run 140,000-150,000 tons through the facility annually. “Spring 2012 is really our coming-out party, but I want the facility up and running towards the end of next year so we can work the bugs out and have it ready,” he said.
Brito-Amador also said the facility will handle liquid fertilizers in addition to dry, though 90 percent of its capacity will be focused on dry – at least at the start. “Ninety percent of everything we get will be delivered by barge,” he said. “Given our location, it will be 100 percent domestic product. I feel strongly that the facility that we’re going to build will more than handle the current problem in the Osceola market.”
The problem in that location, according to Brito-Amador, is that the majority of wholesalers are spending $8-$10 per ton in trucking expenses to provide fertilizer products to dealers and growers in the northeastern Arkansas corridor. Opal reported in May that the construction plans for the Osceola terminal call for a barge dock and conveyor system at the site. The location also has highway access and a rail spur to the BNSF main line.
Brito-Amador said A. J. Sackett & Sons Company in Baltimore, Md., Marcus Construction Company of Prinsburg, Minn., and Waconia Manufacturing Inc. of Waconia, Minn., are among the companies Agricultural Solutions has consulted for the design and construction of the facility.
He said Agricultural Solutions has ambitious plans for a second distribution facility to be located in Mexico, and is also planning a second location in Arkansas within five years.
Brito-Amador noted that the initial announcement of the Osceola terminal prompted “overwhelming feedback” and a “tremendous response” from the industry. “The demand is there,” he said.