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NEWS
Westfert Dome towers above Hoopstad
Largest stand-alone structure in the Southern Hemisphere
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PRODUCERS TRAVELLING THROUGH THE FREE STATE MUST HAVE SEEN THE ENORMOUS WHITE STRUCTURE OF THE WESTFERT DOME JUST OUTSIDE HOOPSTAD . THE MASSIVE FERTILISER STORE IS VISIBLE FROM A DISTANCE OF 10 KM .
AUBREY KRUGER
During Senwes Scenario ’ s visit , owner Pieter Burger and his wife Marietjie , who does the marketing , told us that the structure is the end result of a process which took three years . Planning started in 2014 and the building process started in all earnest in November 2015 . It is expected to be completed by April 2017 .
WESTFERT DOME IN FIGURES The dome is 174 metres in length and 116 metres wide , which officially makes it the largest , standalone structure in the Southern Hemisphere . It is 24 metres in height or approximately 9 floors high . To put this into perspective for the producer - the total extent of the Westfert Dome would cover 2 hectares , roofed , and with a capacity of at least 180 000 tons
FEB / MAR 2017 • SENWES Scenario
the producer is really put first .
HUGE BENEFITS FOR PRODUCERS The Westfert Dome offers a number of benefits for producers . Individual producers can now have fertiliser blended to suit their own requirements . Fertilisers and a number of raw materials can be purchased at different times at better prices . Producers will also save on labour costs , storage space and bagging costs . In addition fertiliser can also be blended in bulk and delivered on the farm . In short , the dome will shorten the chain between the producer and supplier even further .
Westfert indicates that it will be able to do advance purchases at the right times of the year in future . A further benefit is more controlled delivery due to the fact that it will no longer be directly dependent upon shipping as in the past . This means that the shelf life of fertiliser will also be increased . All the above aspects will enable Westfert to render the best possible service to producers and to supply the best quality fertiliser to producers .
WHAT MAKES THE DOME SO SPECIAL ? The dome is perfectly situated to support producers in particularly the western maize producing area . The warm Free State climate is also ideal , contrary to the moist and humid conditions at harbours - the biggest danger to fertiliser is water . The excellent ventilation system in the building keeps the temperature at 6 to 9 degrees cooler than the exterior , which also improves the shelf life of the fertiliser . The building was specifically constructed with the Free State winds in mind . It was designed to be similar to the wing of an aeroplane and can handle winds of up to 150 km / h .
PROUD SUPPLIER TO SENWES Westfert fertiliser is manufactured by Vetrivier Boeredienste and its products have been available in the fertiliser industry for 25 years . Its relationship with Senwes was established more than 22 years ago . Service delivery will now improve even further and the objective is to make the standard blends available at all Hinterland branches in South Africa . A large number of producers are existing Senwes customers and purchase their fertiliser from Westfert via Senwes .
MORE FACTS ABOUT THE DOME This multi-million rand project has 22 very long arches stretching over the length of the building . The corrugated iron used for the roof and structure span a distance of almost 28 kilometres and the pipe a distance of 8 kilometres .
I am sure you will agree that this structure is exceptional and an asset for the agri-sector . For more information please contact the Westfert website at www . westfert . com .