$19.2 million Bunge expansion
Bunge expansion expected to reduce backed up trucks on Church Street
Bunge is expanding its Decatur plant again with a $19.2 million project that increases its receiving capacity for soybeans and should reduce the number of trucks backed up on Church Street Northeast during harvest season, officials said Thursday.
Facilities Manager Rusty Roberts told the Decatur Industrial Development Board that the planned project will allow the soybean processing plant to double its receiving capacity to 40 trucks and 30,000 bushels per hour.
The project will allow Bunge to increase its truck unloading capacity while increasing overall efficiency and reducing wait time for truck drivers, he said.
The plant is a fully integrated facility that receives soybeans from farmers within a 300-mile radius and then produces soybean oil, soybean meal and several oil blends.
The products are then used to produce animal feed and make cooking oils and plant-based proteins that are key ingredients for numerous consumer and restaurant brands.
The new project features:
• Two full-length 30-by-14-foot truck pits.
• Two new bucket elevators.
• Four new drag conveyors.
• Replacing three open-fill belts with storage tanks that hold 7 million bushels.
• Replacing manual gates with automated gates.
• Refinishing the concrete headhouse space for a motor control room.
Roberts said the project, which does not add any new employees, is meant to make the plant more efficient.
“The farmers are our customers,” Roberts said. “This will allow us to move more trucks faster through the facility.”
Mayor Tab Bowling said he appreciates Bunge’s willingness to do this project, especially since it will help reduce the truck backup on Church Street Northeast that often occurs during the harvest.
“It will help our farmers because they won’t have to wait as long,” Bowling said. “And it helps the safety in this area.”
Jeremy Nails, president and CEO of the Morgan County Economic Development Association, said this improved efficiency aids local soybean farmers during the harvest.
“This project will help Bunge stay competitive, and that’s what we like to see,” Nails said.
Roberts said they plan to start construction in December. The contract deadline will be December 2025, but he said they’ll push to complete the project by next fall’s harvest. They haven’t chosen a contractor yet.
Excerpt from The Decatur Daily article by Bayne Hughes