Town & Country Supply Association Announces Construction of Lockwood Fertilizer Mega Plant
Laurel, MT (PRWEB) August 21, 2017 -- Town & Country Supply Association is building a new fertilizer plant, according to Wes Burley, the association’s general manager. Spanning the length and approximate width of a football field, the mega plant is located off Coulson Road in Lockwood.
“We looked at a dozen different sites, including a couple of sites in Lockwood,” Burley said “This land came up for sale, it was the right size and had the railroad proximity we needed. It was the best site we had looked at.”
Town & Country Supply Association is a cooperative that supplies farmers and ranchers in south-central Montana and northern Wyoming with feed, fuel, fertilizer and a variety of supplies. It also has convenience and ranch stores in Laurel, Billings, Bridger and Hardin. The fertilizer plant will serve to strengthen the co-op’s foothold in its market and benefit the agricultural community.
“It’s a 22,800-ton plant, and we’re installing a high-intensity mixer—or HIM—blender that is state-of-the art,” Wes explained. “It will allow us to quickly produce quality custom blends based on what the soil tests recommend for various crops in huge quantities.”
The new plant will have a spur line to bring in railcars to supply the facility. It is outfitted with a bin sufficient to hold over 9,000 tons of urea nitrogen, the largest component in today’s fertilizers, a 5,000-ton monoammonium phosphate bin and other bins holding thousands of tons. No ammonium nitrate will be used at the plant.
For Burley, who began his career as a fertilizer plant operator, the new facility is more than he could have imagined just a few decades ago.
“Back when I was doing it, it would take me an hour to load out 35 tons,” he recalled. “Now we’re blending it at 240 tons an hour, and we can receive product in at 600 tons an hour. You can just imagine how much faster this will be.”
The new plant, which will include a bagging operation, is scheduled to be operational in mid-December of 2017, just ahead of the spring agricultural season. While most of the fertilizer it produces will be delivered via truck directly to regional farmers, wholesale opportunities will also be available.
Town & Country financed the project through First Interstate Bank in Billings.
“Wes and his staff have done an excellent job at getting all the pieces put together so that this plant could be constructed,” said Scott Moran, commercial loan officer at First Interstate Bank who worked on the project. “A long-term goal of Town and Country’s has been to build a bulk fertilizer plant in the Billings area. It is exciting to see the bulk fertilizer plant almost complete and I’m honored to have played a part in helping Town and Country achieve their goal.”
“There are a lot of positives about this new plant,” said Burley. “It gives us better purchasing opportunities, which is important for our membership. But it also puts us in a position to continue being a part of the communities we serve for a long time to come.”
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Town & Country Supply Association is a farm supply cooperative serving the needs of its members and surrounding communities. It is made up of four divisions: agronomy, energy, farm supply operations and convenience stores. Its focus on providing a diverse array of quality products and services has led to its sustained growth and improved market share in Montana and Wyoming. For more information, please visit http://www.TandCSupply.com or phone the corporate office at (406) 628-6314.
Wes Burley, Town & Country Supply Association, http://tandcsupply.com, +1 (406) 545-6024, [email protected]
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