E-Malt.com News article: 2717

USA, Great Falls: Although the International Malting Co., a $70 million plant, is a year away from starting operation, and work inside the monstrous building is taking place at a frenetic pace, Great Falls Tribune posted on May 30. "This is going to go right to the last day," said Philip Van Rensburg, director of corporate engineering for International Malting.

A peek inside the 132,000-square-foot structure hints at where the time will be spent. In various stages of completion are a series of six steel tanks or vessels, 100 feet in diameter, that are being welded together, sheet by sheet. Once formed, the tanks will be sandblasted inside and out to provide a smooth, finished look. "This is not just a tank," said Van Rensburg, noting each must be perfectly round to allow machinery that will stir barley as it is being transformed into malt to work properly.

The germination building and silos will be joined by a large kiln operation, the third major component of the plant. The actual kiln will be 120 feet in diameter, making it the second largest such operation in the world, according to Chris Mulder, IMC's chief manufacturing officer.

There are just a handful of suppliers of malting equipment in the world and IMC figured it could spend up to $25 million if it bought directly from them. Instead, the Milwaukee-based company, a subsidiary of the Lesaffre International Corp., has acquired not only $9 million in proprietary equipment but rights to technology that allows it to build other necessary components. "We took that other $18 million and are having it all made," said Van Rensburg. "We are fabricating the majority of the stuff that people normally buy right here in this building."

The work on the plant is progressing smoothly and officials say they are on schedule to open in June 2005.

Part of the financial package behind the big plant involves a $33.7 million loan from the Montana Board of Investments. IMC has not received any of the loan money yet and is financing construction with its own funds.

German and Bulgarian workers are doing much of the specialized welding work, a fact that has stirred controversy. Union officials and others contend local welders could be doing the work. "It's not that they are better welders than Americans," said Van Rensburg. "They are not. They understand how the vessels are put together. We need that experience. They have done this a lot of times."

Van Rensburg and other IMC officials are quick to point out that the plant, the largest industrial addition in the Great Falls area in decades, is being built with plenty of Montana labor and suppliers. To date, more than $9.8 million in work has been contracted to Montana companies, according to IMC. "Everybody that's working on this site right now, other than the Germans and Bulgarians, are Montanans," said Van Rensburg. "A lot of these guys are really good." IMC, he said, is also training additional welders from the United States to help with the tank work.

In the germination building, the centerpiece of the plant, concrete work is being done by workers from Dick Anderson Construction in Great Falls. Anderson Steel Supply Co. has provided 176 tonnes of steel used to support the malting tanks. "It's not a huge job but it's a good average-size job for us," said Rick Heck, a vice president at Anderson Steel.

Work at the plant has found its way to smaller area firms and even some local Hutterite colonies. Bench Industries, just over the hill from the IMC site, is doing metal work. "We've built beams from structural steel for the vessels," said Brian Miller of Bench Industries, which typically makes grain cleaning equipment. The small company has another job lined up at the plant in coming weeks.

A couple of key elements needed before the plant can begin cranking out malt are still unresolved. The Great Falls Development Authority and the city of Great Falls are working to line up financing for a 4.2-mile rail spur that will be used to bring barley to the plant and ship malt out. The price tag on the rail spur is about $4 million.

John Kramer, president of the development authority, said preliminary engineering work on the spur has begun while efforts to find money for construction are under way. The agency is seeking $2 million from the federal Economic Development Administration and is hoping the U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development program will provide another $2 million.

Kramer said the rail spur is a key component of a value-added commodity park he and others hope to develop around the IMC plant. The park is aimed at attracting other agricultural-based businesses.

Also unsettled is how much IMC will pay for water from Giant Springs for use at the plant and the details of how it will get the water across the Missouri River. IMC is seeking an easement for a 12-inch pipeline under the river and has a tentative agreement with Fish, Wildlife & Parks to pay $280,000 a year to lease water from the springs.

The raw water, up to 1,500 gallons per minute, would be used at the plant, treated and returned to the river. Several critics contend IMC should pay more for the water and question whether a pipeline might damage the flow of water to Giant Springs.

Mulder and other IMC officials say the company is proposing to pay more for the water than other users. The pipeline plan has been scrutinized by two sets of geologists, they said. "We've done a lot of work to make sure there is minimal risk associated with the drilling," said Van Rensburg.

The Fish, Wildlife & Parks commission is to decide on the water agreement at a June 10 meeting in Helena. It delayed making a decision on the agreement in April.

"We have a deal," said Chris Kaltenbach, an attorney for IMC. "It's just not been formally approved yet. We expect that to happen."

Mulder and others say IMC is striving to create a top-notch operation at the first new plant the it has built and one that will expand its U.S. malt production by 42 %.

"The eyes, not only of the American malting community, but internationally, are focused on this plant," Mulder said. "We really believe we are doing something that is innovative."


01 June, 2004