SOURCE | Spring 2022 29
A 2013 GROWMARK study of fertilizer growth and storage needs in Ontario is edging towards the finish line with the completion of a new fertilizer building for Sunderland Co-operative .
The fertilizer building is bigger than initially planned with the final structure incorporating 6500MT of storage broken into 12 storage bays , a state-of-the-art blending tower with 250TPH blending capacity , and full liquid , bulk toting , and bagging systems to complement the operation .
Peter Stanbury , general manager , kickstarted this particular project soon after stepping into his role in 2021 . The first step was to visit recently-built facilities within the Ontario FS system and talk to those teams and industry professionals about the options available . The Sunderland Co-operative board and Stanbury travelled to Huron Bay Co-operative , North Wellington Co-operative , FS PARTNERS , and County Farm Centre , to learn about the benefits of certain designs and how the different options ultimately work in operation .
Once they settled on storage size and blending technology , they contracted with Advanced Millwrights and VanPelt Construction as tried and trusted builders in the field . The building was engineered to allow for easy expansion , as being positioned for future growth was an important factor for Sunderland Co-op . While COVID played a role in supply chain and material challenges for the project , the biggest delays were with obtaining both hydro and building permits for the site . Excavation work for the engineered pad was completed in the summer months and once the permits were issued , concrete foundation work began immediately in mid-September .
Stanbury hosted bi-weekly progress meetings with all trades involved to ensure that the project was on-track to the build schedule . The team ended up working through snowstorms and freezing temperatures to keep the project moving through a very cold winter .
With the permit delays , the new facility will now be ready for use in early June 2022 . While this misses the original plan for being ready for the spring rush , co-op members will not be without spring fertilizer , says Stanbury . The existing two towers in Sunderland and Oakwood have been serviced and are ready to serve customers during the spring rush . This also provides the operations team the opportunity to properly commission the new building and tower without the added stress of peak fertilizer demand . After the 2022 season , the two older towers will be decommissioned , and their buildings repurposed for alternative dry storage .
Sunderland Co-op has received a lot of positive feedback on the construction of the new facility . Members are excited about the improved product quality , blending capability , large capacity , and speed that the new operation will offer .
“ With our current towers there are wait times and line-ups during our busiest season and this has deterred some customers in the past ,” says Stanbury . “ We are seeing business coming back to us because of the technology we are employing in this new build and the speed at which we will be able to service everyone .”
And that ’ s the ultimate goal : delivering an unsurpassed customer experience for the next decade and beyond in this region .