US agribusiness The Andersons has signed a long-term lease agreement for its operations at Port Houston in a bid to increase soyabean meal and other bulk grain exports.
The upgrades would focus on increased reliability and efficiency, including the provision of rail-based soyabean meal unloading directly at the Texas Gulf, the company said on 24 October.
“As domestic soyabean crush rises to meet the higher demand for renewable fuels, we are seeing new opportunities for the export of soyabean meal,” Bill Krueger, president and CEO of The Andersons, said.
With 6.3M bushels storage capacity, the Houston facility supported the export of more than 2M tonnes/year of grain and would now include up to 22,000 tonnes for storing soyabean meal for export, the company said.
Additional upgrades included a new conveyance system to transport goods from storage to ship loaders, as well as a new ship loading tower to increase loading speed and efficiency.
Headquartered in Maumee, Ohio, The Andersons is active in the agricultural commodity merchandising, renewables and the nutrient & industrial sectors.
