The Andersons break ground

November 9, 2011

Pictured from left, are Eric Bruggeman, Bill Beier, Russ Mitchell, Jason Zilles, Erin Lampe (hidden from view), Jim Cripe, Ashley Riehm and Joe Needham.

The Andersons formally ‘broke ground’ Friday on a 3.8 million bushel capacity grain elevator east of Anselmo. The facility is slated to be open in time for the 2012 harvest.
Standing in a newly harvested corn field, company executives, board members from the Custer Economic Development Corporation, members of the Anselmo Village Board, Custer County Board of Supervisors, Broken Bow Chamber and Anselmo-Merna FFA, grabbed the shovels and dug in.
“Constructing a new facility located in the center of Nebraska fits well with our strategy to provide service to customers west of our traditional eastern Corn Belt market,” CEO Mike Anderson said in a press release from earlier this fall.
“During the past 15 months we’ve expanded our operations in Nebraska to nine locations, both through acquisitions and merchandising agreements.”
One of those grain merchandising agreements is with Trotter, Inc., of Arcadia. The agreement with Trotters provides The Anderson with access to an additional 4.1 million bushels of storage space in Nebraska.
“The goal for us at Trotter Grain is to provide a competitive advantage for our customers. We believe aligning ourselves with The Andersons will accomplish that,” said Jim Trotter, president of Trotter, Inc.
The construction project is the first elevator The Andersons has constructed in Nebraska and will be the largest in Custer County. Located along the Burlington Northern Railroad mainline, the facility will have both train and truck loading capabilities.
“We are super proud to be here,” added Joe Neeham, head of The Anderson’s grain division, at a luncheon preceding the ground breaking.
He thanked Liz Babcock, CEDC president and Trotters Inc. for their help, adding that they wouldn’t be here if Jim (Trotter) and Terina (Wortman) hadn’t encouraged them to come.
“It has been a real treat to come out here and meet the people,” said Bill Beier, The Anderson’s Regional Manager. “We are excited about what we feel we can do together.”
The Andersons was founded in Maumee, Ohio, in 1947, and now has operations across the United States, in Puerto Rico, and has rail equipment leasing in Canada and Mexico. During the last year, Anderson added four million bushels of capacity in Nebraska with the acquisitions of O’Malley Grain and B4Grains, Inc. This is the first elevator The Andersons have built since 1981.
Following comments about The Andersons and their devotion to family, Corn grower and CEDC Board Member Don Cantrell talked about the importance of family.
“We are the next generation, and our children are the next, and this is a big deal. Who would have thought that in 2011 Custer County would grow more corn than any other county in Nebraska.”
Lt. Governor Rich Sheehy echoed earlier sentiments, thanking The Anderson’s for their on-going investment in Custer County.
Custer Economic Development President pointed out the opportunities this opens up for our local farmers.
“This is going to a be a huge impact, providing a more competitive market, seasonal jobs, and full time jobs.” said Babcock.
“It has been a pleasure working with The Andersons and (in talking about the benefits of doing business in Custer County) I am so glad that you found out what the rest of us already know.”