The McGregor Company has opened a new fertilizer retail distribution facility in Creston, Wash., that will provide growers in Washington’s Big Bend area with anhydrous and aqua ammonia, UAN, ammonium thiosulfate, and ammonium poly phosphate.
The site was formerly a biodiesel production facility, which operated from 2004 until June 2011. McGregor, headquartered in Colfax, Wash., purchased the location in April 2012, and began a $2 million, 17-month construction project to rehabilitate the site and completely remodel the structure, which had fallen into disrepair since its closure.
That process included cleaning and renovating the former biodiesel manufacturing building and office; removing all contaminated soil and byproducts; building new infrastructure; adding fertilizer storage and containment, as well as rail unloading capability; and adding manufacturing capability for aqua ammonia and ammonium poly phosphate.
McGregor told Green Markets that it was “a very long process, but the end result has turned out to be a state-of-the-art retail facility.”
“Our new retail location at Creston is a strategic manufacturing, storage, and distribution facility that will serve growers within a 70 mile radius of the facility,” said Fred Morscheck, McGregor’s general manager, marketing and logistics. “This location will provide us with the ability to bring fertilizer closer to the market by rail, and serve our current and future customers in a more timely and reliable manner.”
The new 6,000 square-foot facility consists of one building that houses the fertilizer manufacturing and storage capabilities and the retail office. A staff of six operates the Creston location, three of whom are new hires since the project started. McGregor said the location will handle only fertilizer products at this time.
The primary market that the Creston location serves is Washington’s Lincoln County. McGregor currently operates two other branches in Lincoln County, located in Davenport and Harrington, as well as other nearby branches in Lind and Ritzville, located in neighboring Adams County.
The Creston location will be serviced by Eastern Washington Gateway Railroad, a state-owned rail line that connects with the BNSF at Cheney, Wash.
“Determining when and where to build out our infrastructure has been a work in progress at McGregor, and we are very pleased to have our new facility at Creston open for business this month,” Morscheck told Green Markets.
The McGregor Company’s agronomy business employs seven separate teams that operate from approximately 36 locations throughout Washington, Idaho, and Oregon. In addition to agronomy, the company has seed, seed treatment, equipment, and research and technology divisions, as well as extensive custom spray, transportation, and risk management services.