Scoular opens state-of-the-art grain facility in Grainton

By Becky Uehling

Grant Tribun-Sentinel

Ty Knispel, Western Nebraska Regional Manager for Scoular, had a vision more than five years ago to bring high-speed shuttle grain loading facility to the east end of Perkins County. This vision culminated last Thursday at a grand opening and ribbon-cutting in Grainton. 

The celebration saw a gathering of around 30 people representing entities involved with the project, including Scoular, OmniTRAX and BNSF Railroads and Scoular employees.

About the facility, Knispel said,“(Scoular) needed a way to handle the ever-growing production of the area in not only Perkins, but also the surrounding counties. The new facility will do just that.” 

Through the new facility, the Nebraska, Kansas, & Colorado Railway (NKCR), an affiliate of the OmniTRAX rail network, provides access to the BNSF Railroad’s mainline, opening up new markets to farmers, Knispel said. 

The facility is just one of four of its kind in southwest Nebraska. Scoular owns a second similar facility in Venango that opened in 2003, while Gavilon operates a site in Benkelman and FVC has one in Culbertson, Knispel said. 

From the producers’ perspective, the receiving of grain by Scoular will not look much different, except for the ability to unload grain faster, Knispel said. However, once that grain is at the Grainton facility, the shuttle opens up a whole new set of markets that were not present before, he said. 

Much of the grain passing through Grainton had stayed in southwest Nebraska or went to the Front Range market in Colorado, he said.

“With this facility, we will still be able to sell to our existing markets, but also send our grain to Texas, Mexico or to the Pacific Northwest,” he said. “This gives us more market options for the producer, and hopefully translates into a better price for them.”

The upgraded shuttle loader will allow the Grainton facility to provide highly automated, high-speed loading and unloading capabilities, along with a track capacity for 110 cars, where it had just 25 before, Knispel said. 

According to a press release from Scoular, the facility has the capability to receive farmer grain at a rate of 45,000 bushels per  hour, even while loading out railcars at 60,000 bushels per hour. That is five times the loadout volume than before the upgrade. 

Other advantages of the upgrade include:

• Expanded storage capacity to 6 million bushels with new twin, 140-foot-high concrete tanks; 

• The addition of two high-speed receiving legs and two receiving pits, boosting unloading speed and efficiency as well as adding a high-speed shipping leg to the new facility;

• Enhanced sustainability by taking greater advantage of the fuel efficiency of moving grain by rail versus by truck. 

“Our company thrives on helping farmers and customers succeed, and this facility is a great example of our service to them,” said Ron Bingham, Scoular senior vice president and grain division manager. 

The upgrades follow major improvements completed this summer at Scoular facilities in Pratt and Coolidge in Kansas, and in Adrian, Missouri. Those facilities and Grainton are part of Scoular’s Midwestern grain handling network that includes over 50 facilities in Missouri, Iowa, Illinois, Kansas, Colorado and Nebraska.

Knispel’s Journey

Knispel joined the company in 2004 and had served as Asset Trade Unit Manager until June of this year when he was named regional manager for western Nebraska, a new role that opened up after leadership restructuring, he said. In the position, he oversees 14 facilities in the region. Those include: Grainton, Wallace, Madrid, Hershey, Paxton, Venango, South Grant, North Grant, Brandon, Big Springs, Lamar, Sidney, Julesburg Colorado, and Sterling, Colo. 

Employee Owned

Scoular employs approximately 1,400 people at 24 offices and 90 storage, handling, and processing facilities, mostly in the United States. 

Scoular is employee-owned, currently doing $9 billion in agribusiness, and has had a presence in Perkins County since the 1990s. 

Scoular sells grain to flour millers, livestock feeders and feed millers, ethanol plants, soybean crushers and other buyers across the world.

In Grainton, there are approximately 12 employees. Although much of the new upgrade is automated, employees are always still needed, with Scoular encouraging anyone interested in working at their state-of-the-art facilities to apply, Knispel said.  

About Scoular   

Scoular is a corporation based in Omaha that is dedicated to the buying, selling, storage, handling, and processing of grain, feed and food ingredients. 

The company was founded in 1892 by George Scoular and was owned by the Scoular family until its purchase in 1967 by Omaha businessman Marshall Faith, who served as CEO for the next 23 years. 

At the time of Faith’s purchase, Scoular had 10 employees and operated three grain elevators, but grew considerably over subsequent decades and is one of the largest grain storage and handling companies in North America.