York County, Nebraska
March 28, 2008
Monsanto Company (NYSE: MON) today held a ceremonial
groundbreaking event on the future site of the company’s new
DEKALB® seed conditioning facility.
Tom Schaffran, a more than 20 year Monsanto Company employee,
was tapped to oversee construction of the new facility and serve
as the site lead for the completed facility which is slated to
swing into production in 2009.
Nebraska Governor, Dave Heineman; United States Senator, Ben
Nelson; and United States Congressman, Adrian Smith participated
in the ground breaking festivities alongside Monsanto Company
officials.
The new corn seed production facility, located between the
townships of Waco and Utica, is part of a $155 million
investment by Monsanto to more than double corn seed production
operations in Nebraska.
The company announced the location of the new site, and
expansion of its current facility in Kearney, in October 2007.
Combined, the expansions are expected to add more than 55
full-time jobs and nearly 2,000 part-time positions, the
majority of which will go to support the new facility.
“We’re proud to have been a part of Nebraska agriculture for
more than 50 years and we look forward to many more,” said Mark
Leidy, executive vice president of manufacturing for Monsanto
Company. “Expanding production capacity in Nebraska is essential
in continuing to meet the growing demand for our DEKALB brand
corn seed products throughout the Western Corn Belt. This new,
state-of-the-art facility will help us meet the growing demand
for our products and offer good jobs for residents in the
community.”
The groundbreaking festivities took place on the project site
which encompasses more than 145 acres of land outside of Waco.
Event dignitaries used golden shovels to break ground during the
event. Actual construction on the site is scheduled to begin in
May with completion expected later in 2009.
Once completed, the facility will feature more than 230,000
square feet of warehouse space, bulk storage, three
high-capacity seed dryers and green corn receiving lines, and a
180-foot tall conditioning tower which can package an estimated
1,200 units of seed per hour.
Schaffran, the past site manager of the Kearney facility for the
past 8 years, will immediately begin overseeing the construction
of the new facility. A Minnesota native, Schaffran has plans to
relocate to the York County area sometime later this year.
Monsanto Company is a leading global provider of
technology-based solutions and agricultural products that
improve farm productivity and food quality. |
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