Grain Elevators

Some grain elevators are actually directly attached to the storage facility: this includes weighbridges and receival offices.  Further, the term “grain elevators” can also reference businesses that use grain elevators and manage them at various locations.

Modern Grain Elevators: Features

Grain elevators were first created in the 1840s by Robert Dunbar and Joseph Dart, an engineer and a merchant from Buffalo, New York.  Prior to the creation of the modern grain elevator, all grain was placed into bags and was not typically handled in excessive or large/bulk quantities.  Dunbar and Dart used flour mills powered by steam and created a “marine leg” which was later used to scoop up all of the grain that was loose and placed outside of ships’ hulls so it could be elevated and then placed at the uppermost part of the marine tower.

The first grain elevators were made out of cribbed wood or framed wood.  Since they were made of wood materials it was more likely that the units could catch on fire.  Modern grain elevators are therefore engineered out of things like reinforced concrete or steel to minimize fire hazards.  These special units allow for businesses to safely store grain so it can later be shipped to different locations.  Grain elevators might be a single unit or it can be a series of different buildings that are all interconnected.
The first grain elevators were used in the state of New York, and the idea of their use become popular and widespread across the nation in a short period of time. By the late nineteenth century, grain elevators had already made their way to the Midwestern United States and were commonly used for the purposes of storing wheat and corn.  Common places where grain elevators are built include locations positioned nearby riverbanks and railroads: this is because the location of the elevator makes for ease of transport and shipment.

Getting Grain Elevators and Finding Networks

ADM®

ADM® is also known as the Archer Daniels Midland Company.  This company maintains over 240 different processing plants and they convert cocoa, wheat, oilseeds, and corn into chemicals, animal feed, and/or food.  ADM® controls a vast grain elevator network with over 330 units thereby connecting markets and crops in as many as sixty different countries.  The grain elevators are located in the Canada, South America, and Canada as well as other agricultural regions around the globe.  For more information visit http://www.adm.com/en-US/products/grain/Pages/default.aspx.

Mill & Elevator Supply Co. Inc.

The Mill & Elevator Supply Co Inc in Kansas City, Missouri specializes in  modern grain elevators, conveying equipment, accessories, metal fabrication, spouting, components, bucket elevators, belt conveyors, elevator buckets, pulleys, bearings, shafts, motors, gearboxes, drives, drag conveyors, screw conveyors, trippers, friction pulleys, augers, lining materials, and grain grading, sampling, and testing equipment.  This company has modern grain elevators that are made of galvanized steel.  They have painted exteriors to make them more durable and weather resistant.  The company’s grain elevators range in size and are made with a PVC or Rubber leg belting, a gravity boot pulley or a screw take up, a gear reducer drive with a backstop, work platforms, a cage, a ladder, and an optional motion sensor.  Their grain elevators are also created with lined areas where there is high wear to lend more durability to the unit. The Mill & Elevator Supply Co Inc represents more than 300 firms and they specialize in replacement parts for industrial equipment, food equipment, and seed, feed, milling, and grain equipment.  The company is located on 1665 North Topping.  For more information on ordering and grain elevator installation, visit http://www.millelevatorsupply.com/category/Bucket_Elevator___Grain_Handling.html.

Cargill®

Cargill® is a marketer of industrial services, industrial products, financial products, agricultural products and food.  They deliver their services and products to an international audience and presently employ more than 130000 people.  This company was established in the mid 1860s and works with more than 66 countries around the world.  This company specializes in silo management, specialty growing programs, agronomy advisory services, crop inputs and crop protections, and grain marketing.  Cargill® has established a crop input facilities and a grain elevator network that buys quality grain from United States farmers.  For more information visit http://www.cargill.com/.

Getting Grain Elevators: More Resources

Ross Manufacturing Company Inc

Ross Manufacturing Company Inc has been in the industry of making grain equipment for more than five decades.  The company hand constructs all of their equipment with the finest materials to ensure their durability.  Ross Manufacturing Company Inc is located in Brownville, Tennessee.  They specialize in auger repair, bucket elevators, spouting, grain distributors, drag conveyors, screw conveyors, augers, and feed mill equipment.  Their bucket elevators are galvanized so you do not have to worry about continually painting the units to keep them protected from the outdoor elements.  They are constructed with welded legging to prevent twisting, and they come with a 75 percent fill capacity.  For more details visit http://www.rossmfgco.com/Bucketelevators.html.

Young Love LLC

Young Love LLC is a company specializing in bulk materials since the late 1890s.  This company constructs limestone silos, storage units, pet foods, feed, ethanol, grain storage units, corn storage silos, modern grain elevators, and more.  Young Love LLC has built more than eight hundred different facilities, including but not limited to soybean processing plants, pasta manufacturing plants, flour mills, feed mills, and storage silos.  This company has  a clientele database consisting of large, industrialized corporate businesses and small, independent agricultural farmers.  Some of their chief customers include Pilgrim’s Pride Corporation, Archer-Daniels-Midland, ConAgra, and Cargill, among others.   The company offers a wide range of services too including layout of work and design, building construction, equipment selection assistance, equipment installation, and management of construction services.  For more information visit http://www.younglovellc.com/.