H.J. Baker & Bro. Inc., based in Westport, Conn., and its wholly-owned subsidiary, Tiger-Sul Products, announced on Jan. 24 the ground-breaking for an expansion of H.J. Baker’s Stockton, Calif., facility. The expansion will allow H.J. Baker to increase its manufacturing capability for pastillated sulfur-based products for agriculture and other applications, including Tiger 90CRTM sulfur and Tiger Micronutrients TM fertilizers.
“We are very pleased to begin this significant expansion of our existing Stockton, Calif. site to include the Tiger-Sul pastillation facility,” said Christopher Smith, H.J. Baker president and CEO. “This will allow us to offer top quality products directly to our customers in the region, while continuing to provide them with the exceptional service they depend on.”
The Stockton plant will be Tiger-Sul’s third facility in North America. The company said its pastillation process “produces an especially uniform product that is an excellent fit for California soils,” and also noted the product’s environmentally-friendly features, such as a season-long release of nutrients to improve availability to the plant and minimize nutrient loss to the environment.
“Tiger 90CRTM sulfur and Tiger Micronutrients TM fertilizers are industry leaders,” Smith said. “As part of our effort to continually provide our customers the best product possible we are creating a facility that will maintain the quality, value and dependability they expect. I am also pleased that every effort is being made to be environmentally conscientious during the manufacturing process.”
The new facility is being constructed at H.J. Baker’s existing site in Stockton in order to utilize available land and enhance operational efficiencies. The production facility will initially have one pastillation belt with room for expansion, and will be operational by July 2008. Sahargun Plumbing Inc. of Stockton has been chosen as the project contractor.
Tiger-Sul Products manufactures products for the agricultural, organic, and turf markets, and is the global leader in bentonite sulfur and bentonite micronutrients technology. The company also operates a fleet of trucks for molten sulfur transportation in Alabama, Florida, Mississippi, and Louisiana. The Tiger group of companies includes Tiger-Sul Products (Canada) Co. in Calgary, Alberta; Tiger-Sul Products LLC; and Tiger Transportation in Atmore, Ala.