Seed Today - Q1 2008 - (Page 24)

Case Study A Cool Warehouse try. After a conversation with Mike Elliot, Director of Refrigerated Systems, for Krauter Solutions, Indianapolis, IN (800992-2824/www.krauter-storage.com), Anderson chose to build a Krauter Solutions warehouse insulated with rigid urethane panels. The panels with metal skins provide an overall R30 rating on both the walls and ceilings. Lower Operating Costs “The rigid panels provide insulation that is equivalent to 12 inch bats,” says Anderson. “Not only is the urethane insulation more effective, the structure itself is more tightly sealed with less air loss.” The industrial refrigeration system has no cold air ducts. The air ducts have been replaced with evaporator coils mounted above the product and blow cold air across the room for constant, even air distribution. “We ran the new refrigeration unit for four years without a nickel’s worth of maintenance before we recharged the freon in 2007,“ says Agan. “This has proved to be a very efficient building. Our only mistake was not making the warehouse three times larger.” Urethane insulation panels and an industrial refrigeration system reduce warehouse operating costs After several successive years of significant gains in seed corn sales, AgReliant Genetics’ production facilities began to experience growing pains. The expanding volume of AgReliant’s six brands of corn seed—AgriGold, Great Lakes Hybrids, LG Seeds, Producers Hybrids, Wensman Seeds and Pride Seeds— had stretched production warehouse capacity to its limit. AgReliant’s largest seed corn production facility located at Elmwood, IL, had simply run out of warehouse space. “We were fortunate to be in the right place at the right time with some outstanding hybrids which helped boost our total corn seed sales,” says Elmwood Location Manager Dennis Agan. “It is a good problem to have, but we had completely maxed out our warehouse space and were in need of more warehouse storage, especially cold storage capacity to house returns and security carry-over through the hot, humid summer.” The rapid sales increase coupled with an increasing number of SKUs had resulted in more customer returns than the existing 30,000 sq. ft. warehouse with 10,000 sq. ft. of cold storage could accommodate. “By the first of July, we want all our seed corn in cold storage,” Agan says. “Our experience in 2000 made the decision to expand for us. We simply needed more cold storage if we were to maintain our quality standards in 2001.” Structure Options The new warehouse would have the same 150-ft. by 250-ft. footprint as the existing structure. That is where the similarity would end. “When we planned the second cold storage warehouse for Elmwood, two design features were top priority,” says AgReliant Genetics Production Vice President David Anderson. “First, we wanted a more efficiently insulated, more tightly sealed structure to minimize air leaks during cooling and fumigation. “Second, we wanted an industrial warehouse refrigeration system to replace the air conditioning system in order to minimize our operating and maintenance costs,” Anderson says. The existing cold storage warehouse is insulated with fiberglass insulation commonly found throughout the seed indus- ® Westfield, IN • 317-896-5552 www.agreliantgenetics.com Key Personnel • Dennis Agan, Elmwood, IL location manager • Marion Harper, Elmwood, IL warehouse supervisor • David Anderson, AgReliant Genetics VP Production Company Highlights • Research, breeding, production and distribution of corn, soybean and forage seeds. • Six retail brands in the United States and Canada. 24 First Quarter 2008 http://www.krauter-storage.com http://www.agreliantgenetics.com http://www.agreliantgenetics.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Seed Today - Q1 2008

Seed Today - Q1 2008 Contents Editor’s Notes Cover Feature: Agrecol® Corporation Reed Barker, Ph.D. Cal/West Seeds Inc. Annual GM Use Report Bt Resistance Reported Camelina Tony Harper Gayle Jacklin According to ASTA Krauter Structures AOSCA AOSA/SCST GM and Greenhouse Gas Seed Associations Ad Index

Seed Today - Q1 2008

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