by
Bradley Jones, PE, AGCO/GSI, USA
We have all heard the lines “bigger is better”, “bigger bang for your buck($)” or “everything is bigger in texas”. But, how do any of these have to do with grain silos? Well, it seems over the years that customers and manufacturers continue to ask for, and receive, bigger and bigger storage capabilities. It is not uncommon to now see a round steel silo that is more than 135’ (41m) diameter holding more than one million bushels (35,000 tonnes) of grain.
In 1896, Wisconsin boasted one of the largest silos in the world, measuring in at a whopping 62’ diameter by 80’ (24m) tall and holding 3228 tonnes of grain. The impressive silo was built using stone covered in plaster, lots of tar-covered lumber and a big wagonload of nails. The cost of construction was US $2400. At the time, one of the leading silo experts said that “smaller silos are better… it is a mistake to build so large a silo.”
By the 1970’s silos were still relatively small, built out of concrete and steel. Things have changed over the years, with grain bins now built primarily out of steel instead of lumber and stone and the size is continuing to increase at a rapid rate. There seems to be a competition among manufacturers to boast “mine is bigger than yours”, thus, providing benefit to the industry and customers as it pushes the industry to be better and encourages innovation. The latest addition in the last few years is the introduction of the 156’ diameter silo, storing two million bushels (60,000 tonnes). Very few have tackled the engineering endeavor, an even fewer have proved themselves successful.
AGCO/GSI is the latest grain storage giant to step into the 156’ arena. They have been a leader in grain storage silos for decades and move methodically into this new realm of storage. Their analytical designs and extensive research have kept AGCO/GSI at the top of the industry for many years and continues to lead the industry in innovative storage solutions. The winner, in the end, from all of the research and design innovations is the customer and world food supply in general.
The AGCO/GSI latest grain silo design has multiple evolutionary features which improve grain security by leaps and bounds, increasing sustainability by reducing the tonnes of steel required for an extremely strong grain storage bin, while cutting the time spent on erection.
Read more HERE.
We have all heard the lines “bigger is better”, “bigger bang for your buck($)” or “everything is bigger in texas”. But, how do any of these have to do with grain silos? Well, it seems over the years that customers and manufacturers continue to ask for, and receive, bigger and bigger storage capabilities. It is not uncommon to now see a round steel silo that is more than 135’ (41m) diameter holding more than one million bushels (35,000 tonnes) of grain.
In 1896, Wisconsin boasted one of the largest silos in the world, measuring in at a whopping 62’ diameter by 80’ (24m) tall and holding 3228 tonnes of grain. The impressive silo was built using stone covered in plaster, lots of tar-covered lumber and a big wagonload of nails. The cost of construction was US $2400. At the time, one of the leading silo experts said that “smaller silos are better… it is a mistake to build so large a silo.”
By the 1970’s silos were still relatively small, built out of concrete and steel. Things have changed over the years, with grain bins now built primarily out of steel instead of lumber and stone and the size is continuing to increase at a rapid rate. There seems to be a competition among manufacturers to boast “mine is bigger than yours”, thus, providing benefit to the industry and customers as it pushes the industry to be better and encourages innovation. The latest addition in the last few years is the introduction of the 156’ diameter silo, storing two million bushels (60,000 tonnes). Very few have tackled the engineering endeavor, an even fewer have proved themselves successful.
AGCO/GSI is the latest grain storage giant to step into the 156’ arena. They have been a leader in grain storage silos for decades and move methodically into this new realm of storage. Their analytical designs and extensive research have kept AGCO/GSI at the top of the industry for many years and continues to lead the industry in innovative storage solutions. The winner, in the end, from all of the research and design innovations is the customer and world food supply in general.
The AGCO/GSI latest grain silo design has multiple evolutionary features which improve grain security by leaps and bounds, increasing sustainability by reducing the tonnes of steel required for an extremely strong grain storage bin, while cutting the time spent on erection.
Read more HERE.
The Global Miller
This blog is maintained by The Global Miller staff and is supported by the magazine Milling and Grain
which is published by Perendale Publishers Limited.
For additional daily news from milling around the world: global-milling.com
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