Northwest Grain Growers leases former Cargill plant
 Northwest Grain Growers has leased the former Cargill grain storage and barge loading facility from the Port as of January 1st.
According to Chris Peha, general manager for NWGG, the facility is currently being used mostly for canola handling and storage. Peha explains that the product now being handled at Burbank is mostly trucked from Canadian growing areas, off-loaded at Burbank and then shipped on demand to Washington’s Pacific Coast Canola processing plant in Warden.
The canola is moved by truck, but Peha says some barges of wheat will be loaded out for river shipment.
Port Commissioner Mike Fredrickson said, “The Port has had a long term working relationship with NWGG and leases them several parcels of property and have worked cooperatively together on a grain car shuttle program. They are a well-run organization.”
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Global grain company revitalizes Co-Grain site
The Scoular Company ships Northwest grains via barge to Portland terminals for worldwide distribution
The Scoular Company, with headquarters in Omaha, NE, leased this grain storage and barge loading facility in the Port of Walla Walla’s Burbank Industrial Park in March, 2014 and began operations there in July, just ahead of the new grain season.
“With the use of this facility, we can expand our service to area farmers and grain dealers, putting know-how and operations expertise to work in Burbank,” says Randy Schmidt, Senior Merchandising Manager who works in Scoular’s Portland office.
While the facility had been “idle” for nearly a decade, Scoular officials were excited about bringing it back into operation.
“We’ve invested in necessary repairs and upgrades to make sure we can operate safely and efficiently,” Schmidt explained.
Schmidt further noted that access to the Snake River near the Columbia River offers Scoular a “natural extension of its grain-trading network.”
Grain is trucked from growers in Idaho, Oregon and Washington, then loaded on barges headed to Portland for export.
According to Scoular, the Burbank facility has storage for up to 550,000 bushels of grain.
Port Commissioner Ron Dunning said, “The Scoular Company has a proven track record in the grain business and a real focus on expanding their lines of business. This is exactly the type of business we like to attract to our community.”
The 122-year-old Scoular has more than $6 billion in sales with 750+ employees at 90 locations in North and South America. |
