How Wilbur-Ellis Rose From the Ashes to Continue Serving Growers
Aurora, Colorado — October 23, 2022, marked a challenging day for Wilbur-Ellis when its fertilizer facility in Moses Lake, Washington, was completely destroyed by fire. Just 16 months later, the rebuilt and upgraded facility was fully operational, demonstrating a testament to the company’s resilience and commitment to its customers.
On June 18, Wilbur-Ellis hosted an open house and tour of the newly rebuilt facility, attended by nearly 50 local growers and guests. This event celebrated the extraordinary team effort that enabled the company to continue serving the local agricultural community while simultaneously reconstructing the facility.
Dave Byrne, process engineering manager with Wilbur-Ellis, expressed immense pride in the team’s dedication. “We are very proud of the incredible team effort it took to continue to serve and support local row crop and specialty crop farmers while rebuilding the fertilizer handling, storage, and blending facility,” Byrne said.
The state-of-the-art facility now boasts advanced blending and mixing capabilities, significant storage, and rail access, making it an efficient, high-throughput fertilizer hub for local growers.
Building Up and Reopening
The journey to rebuild while maintaining service to customers was no small feat. The Wilbur-Ellis team focused on reconstruction and ensuring prompt access to crop nutrition products. The rebuilding process required starting from scratch, from concrete foundations to electrical and mechanical systems. With safety and customer service as top priorities, the team embarked on this challenging task.
“We partnered with contractors and equipment manufacturers willing to work on an aggressive timeline,” Byrne explained. “With long lead times on materials and strained supply chains coming out of COVID, it was a challenge. Thankfully, we found a team of partners willing to work cooperatively, prioritize our needs, and do whatever they could to get us back up and running in a facility with even greater capabilities.”
GrayMar Environmental, Stueve Construction, Easy Automation, and Sackett-Waconia played pivotal roles in the reconstruction, along with other essential partners. The rebuilding effort allowed for the incorporation of new blending technologies, increased mixing capacity, and the addition of several liquid micronutrient impregnating stations, alongside safety modifications.
Keeping Fertilizer Moving During the Rebuild
Supplying customers without equipment and infrastructure called for creative solutions. The highly automated process temporarily became manual. Anita Paulsson, distribution manager at Wilbur-Ellis, led the internal team in managing logistics to ensure fertilizer supply. “In spite of not having a building for storage, we used other locations and managed the logistics to get the needed fertilizer supply to our customers,” Paulsson said.
Much of the fertilizer was trucked directly to fields from railcars, and some supplies were routed through the Basin West facility in Quincy and the Pasco plant. The Basin West facility, previously a dry fertilizer warehouse with limited capacity, necessitated a temporary shift in blending and throughput.
To overcome these challenges, the Wilbur-Ellis team employed small batch blending systems, maintaining the original facility’s pace and output. “The tenacity of the operations team was key to keeping our customers supplied with fertilizer,” Byrne noted. “Their work ethic and dedication made the difference.”
Making It Happen
With everyone pulling together, the reconstruction goal was met. On March 7, 2024, just one year and four months after the fire, the facility reopened in time to support customers for the 2024 growing season. Despite the challenges, Wilbur-Ellis upheld its commitment to customers, providing the necessary fertilizer for a successful crop while rebuilding to ensure future service excellence.
