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In this edition:
Feature article

AMI Tackles Agrico Ship Unloading Project

Agrico Canada is a wholesale distributor of crop input products, primarily dealing with dry and liquid fertilizers. Operating within Canada, Agrico serves various agri-retail customers with premium products, both domestically and worldwide. With a location at the Hamilton Port, Agrico unloads ships carrying mass amounts of product to keep within storage domes, and afterward send to various customers across the province. Unloading these ships can be a time consuming and difficult process, with thousands of dollars of product on the line.¹

Through the years, Agrico’s product demand has increased, leading to a raise in the quantity of product shipped and frequency of shipments. With this increase in demand, it became evident that their current unloading process was dated and could use a revamp to boost their operations. With the Hamilton Port unloading ships the vast majority of the year, their equipment upgrade would have to be timed perfectly, giving the company who completes the project only a couple months to install the equipment.

Known for their high-quality custom builds and efficient installations, Advance Millwrights was the perfect fit to tackle Agrico’s operation revamp. Advance Millwright’s expert designers quickly went to work, creating a system that can keep up with the product quantity and efficiently fill the storage domes within hours. The solution was a custom fabricated stacker system complete with portable conveying, allowing the conveyor to switch between each of the five domes fed from one source. Once one dome is filled, the conveyor moves to the next dome along a track within minutes, creating minimal downtime while the ship is docked and unloading. The entire process is fully automated, reducing the amount of manual labour, decreasing unload times drastically, and eliminating the need for the ship to be moved once initially docked. The entire integration and setup was completed before the port unloading opened again, creating zero lost
time in their process.

For industries where product transportation, unloading, and storage is predominant, getting the highest quality equipment is essential to ensuring there is no lost product or unnecessary downtime. With over 75 years of experience, Advance Millwrights has the capabilities to boost your production. From concept designs to expert fabrication, our custom solutions and expert tradespeople will take your operation to the next level. To learn more about how we can improve your process, drop us a line at sales@advancemillwrights.com.

1. https://www.agricocanada.com/

New at Advance Millwrights

Headquarter Expansion and Upgrades

Advance Millwrights is excited to announce the expansion of our headquarters, including various building upgrades, added space, and new equipment. This expansion will help us to better serve our customers and support future growth in years to come. In total, the expansion will add 20,000 sqft onto our current facility, increasing office space to accommodate more staff as our team grows through the years and adding more shop space as we take on larger scale projects. The current building will also be upgraded, creating a consistent brand throughout the headquarters and improving the overall flow of the work environment.

The building expansion will be accompanied by the addition of new shop equipment, including a new paint booth, plasma cutter, brake press, HVAC system for improved air quality, and four 10-ton overhead cranes. These upgrades will aid in increasing our production efficiency and quality of our craftmanship, ensuring that all projects that leave our facility are safe for our customers, and in-turn, their customers. Office upgrades will include brand new offices and renovations to current offices, as well as a new lunchroom for all employees, added parking, larger boardroom, and various technology upgrades.

The expansion and equipment upgrades come as a result of significant growth over the past several years, which has led us to outgrow our current facility. As we move forward, we strive to continually improve our operations and capabilities, including taking on larger and more complex projects.

Currently the expansion is on track to be complete by the end of this year. Visit each of our social media pages, which can be found on our website homepage, to view continual updates, photos, videos, and learn more about our growth.

Industry Subsidies

Ontario Government Contributes Funds to Agriculture

With COVID showing no signs of disappearing in the near future, companies are now preparing their facilities to adhere to new safety guidelines and maintain a continual production output in these difficult times. To support businesses in their struggle, the Government of Canada has put in place various subsidies to assist local businesses and help improve their operation’s safety. These grants were established to help struggling companies remain competitive in the market, and increase PPE within facilities, to keep their employees and customers safe.

One of the newest programs within the Ontario agriculture industry is the Enhanced Agri-Food Workplace Protection Program, which provides funds to agriculture operations with intensive use of labour. This program was created to address the health and safety processes which protect workers in food related companies. It is available to Ontario farm businesses or off-farm primary packing services, helping provide funds to supply companies with PPE. This includes¹:

  •  Modifications throughout an agricultural operation,
    worker housing, or worker transportation systems
  • Providing workers with personal protective equipment and other approved safety supplies
  • Cleaning and disinfecting throughout an agricultural operation
  • Providing arrangements to support worker accommodations and work-site mobility

Another assistance program available to the agriculture industry is Farm Credit Canada, which provides financial assistance and loans to agriculture, agribusiness, and food industries. If your businesses is looking to grow or expand, Farm Credit will partner with you to improve your current process and boost sales.

During this time of heightened safety measures, it is essential that companies are taking all precautions to protect their employees while maintaining their production rates. If you are looking for equipment modifications to your current operation to help integrate better safety measures and maximize productivity, Advance Millwright’s Project Managers can help you get on track. Give us a call today at 519-699-4200 to have one of our experts visit your site and find a solution that fits your specific needs.

1. https://ofa.on.ca/resources/summary-of-governmentfinancial-assistance-for-ontario-farm-businesses/
2. https://www.fcc-fac.ca/en.html

 

 

Project Showcase

TCO Agromart Fertilizer Facility

TCO Agromart is an agriculture supply company that offers a full range of crop production inputs, such as crop nutrients, crop protection products, and various fertilizer blending applications. With a headquarters in Trenton, Ontario, Agromart stores and bags their product within their facilities, and supplies various customers across the nation¹.

Due to growth and demand through the years, TCO Agromart recognized the need for an additional new facility, built not far from their current location in Trenton. This new facility will be used to store, blend, and bag their products. It will also include a new seed warehouse and several offices, allowing Agromart to keep up with current and future demand.

With years of experience in fertilizer blending facilities, Advance Millwrights had the skillset and capabilities to design and install a process to boost Agromart’s production rate and ensure minimal downtime. The full build consisted of an 8,000 metric tonne flat storage, with a 300TPH receiving system, and 300TPH fully-automated bulk loadout blending and bagging facility. With the expected completion date set for November 2020, TCO Agromart looks forward to increasing their efficiency in their new innovative facility.

From new facility builds similar to TCO Argromart’s fertilizer plant, to existing process upgrades, Advance Millwrights has the experience and skillset to boost your company’s operation output. Whether you have an idea already in mind or need a custom solution to solve an issue, our expert designers will work to create the perfect end-result for you and your customers. To learn more about how we can help, visit our website at www.advancemillwrights.com.

1. https://tcoagromart.com/

A Message From Our President

The first half of 2020 has been unpredictable to say the least, with the market continually changing and new regulations frequently appearing. Through all of this commotion, Advance Millwrights has managed to stay at the forefront of support and safety in our industry, ensuring our customers are able to keep up with demand and find solutions to help them stay afloat during these times.

I cannot thank our employees enough for all of the hard work and effort they have put in on the frontline, ensuring the market’s food demand is continually met. Our team has done a fabulous job by taking action in all protocols in protecting themselves, others, and our customers through this pandemic.

We are very excited to announce that our headquarters expansion began last month, which will vastly increase our shop and office capabilities. This much needed additional space and equipment upgrades will assist in increasing our production capacity, allowing us to better serve our customers. Though there is a lot of commotion currently during the construction, we eagerly await the final result, set to be completed by the end of 2020.

We have a big second half of the year in front of us, and I look forward to all of the projects that our team will knock out of the park as we venture forward. Enjoy rest of the summer with family and friends, and stay safe.

Thank you for reading this edition of IMPACT.

 

Brad Shantz
President
Advanced Millwrights Inc.

 

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