The upgrade will increase grain storage space by 2bn bushels, as well as the unload capacity on the Union Pacific rail line to 65,000 bushels per hour.
The improvements will be completed in phases and no shutdowns of the elevator are planned.
Cargill expects the entire project to be complete by early 2019.
High yields
According to Jim Rieff, Northwest commercial leader for Cargill’s Agricultural Supply Chain in North America, the elevator is perfectly positioned in the Gibbon area, which historically produces consistently high yields.
Additionally, the facility is located on the Union Pacific mainline rail, which offers direct access to export markets in the US Gulf, Pacific Northwest and Mexico, as well as customers in California.
Dave Baudler, grain MD for Cargill’s Agricultural Supply Chain in North America, said the upgrades will have a positive impact on both long and local supply chains and are in line with the company’s growth strategy.
Elevator network
Cargill operates a network of 200 grain elevator and crop input facilities across North America that purchase grain from local farmers to deliver to end-users around the world.
The Gibbon elevator, which employs eight full-time workers handling wheat, corn and soy beans, is one of 16 facilities Cargill operates across the state of Nebraska.
Cargill’s Agricultural Supply Chain is a unit of Minneapolis-based Cargill that has provided food, agriculture, financial and industrial products and services for over 150 years.
The group employs over 150,000 people in 70 countries committed to feeding the world in a responsible way.
The company’s revenue grew 2% to $109.7bn in the fiscal year ended May 31, 2017, on the back of higher grain sales, as well as oil seeds and metal.