ADM repairs storage bins

By DAVID TELLER

Staff reporter

The ADM mill in downtown Cheney will undergo repair to two bin storage units. The holes were visible from First Street.

Plant manager Mike Wodelman said the holes are a result of deterioration from constant use. He estimates the bins were built about 1954.

The holes have been temporarily patched as repair has already begun, “We've hammered out all the bad concrete,” Wodelman said.

Rebar, which stabilizes the concrete and the interior of the bins will be repaired next. Pouring the concrete is the last phase.

Wodelman said the two bins have a capacity of 21,000 bushels. One bushel is about 60 pounds or 9.3 gallons of grain, which equates to the bins having a capacity of 1.26 millions pounds of grain.

The mill, which currently employs approximately 20 people, processes about 13,000 bushels of grain a day, which is then sent to a plant in Portland, Ore., for use in Nabisco products like Oreos, Ritz and Saltine crackers.

Wodelman expects the project will be complete by mid-October, and he said he does not anticipate any employees being out of work during the repair.

David Teller can be reached at [email protected]