TheHansen-Mueller Co.recently finalized acquisition of General Mills Elevator A in Duluth, MN, completing a deal that will bring the grain-handling facility back into active service.
Owned previously by General Mills and inactive since 2015, Elevator A becomes the second Hansen-Mueller-ownedgrain complex in the Twin Ports, joining the Daisy Elevator and Elevator M complex in Superior, WI.
Elevator A back in service by harvest 2022
Elevator A anchors the northern end ofRice’s Pointin Duluth. It stands 185 feet above the harbor, with a 3.5 million-bushel storage capacity.
Consolidated Elevator Co.built the structure with ceramic tile, brick and concrete in 1908, replacing the original wooden elevator constructed on the site in 1894.
General Millspurchased the elevator from Consolidated in 1943, modernizing it in the 1970s and operating it until 2015. The site includes a 1,900-foot dock, with a slip depth of 28 feet, and on-dock rail service from BNSF Railway.
Nebraska-based Hansen-Mueller plans to bring the facility back into operation in time for the 2022 harvest season.
The facility will import and export primarily small grains grown in the U.S. and Canada to domestic and foreign destinations.
“The facility fits our portfolio very well and will complement our import and export program, as well as our interior grain assets and processing plants,” saidPaul Johnson, Hansen-Mueller vice president and COO.
“We are excited to grow our business in the Port of Duluth-Superior, and bring new business onto theSt. Lawrence Seaway.”
Will help increase grain tonnage through Port of Duluth-Superior
The reactivation of Duluth’s Elevator A is expected to add at least eight new jobs on the working waterfront, in addition to generating added revenues and increasing grain tonnage through the Port of Duluth-Superior.
“Elevator A is a valuable asset in our port, with its grain-handling capacity, excellent road and rail connections, plus a long, solid, Seaway-depth dock for ships, and we’re excited for its potential,” saidKate Ferguson,Duluth Seaway Port Authoritydirector of trade and business development.
“We’ve been looking for the right match to put that asset back into active use, and Hansen-Mueller proved to be that match," said Ferguson.
"It was a process working together with Hansen-Mueller, General Mills andBNSF, which owns the land on which the elevator is built, and we’re appreciative of everyone’s efforts that brought us to this exciting announcement for Hansen-Mueller, the Port of Duluth-Superior and the Duluth Seaway Port Authority.”
