Scoular’s new high-speed shuttle loading facility opens new markets to Nebraska farmers

GRAINTON, Nebraska (Nov. 17, 2022) – Producers in southwest Nebraska will have new markets for their grain, plus significantly faster unloading speeds and increased storage because of Scoular’s new high-speed shuttle loading facility. 

Scoular celebrated completion of the project with a grand opening event Thursday at the facility, located in Grainton. Scoular CEO Paul Maass, plus other Scoular leaders and railroad representatives, joined for the ribbon-cutting event. 

The facility is only the fourth of its kind in southwest Nebraska, which includes Scoular’s facility in nearby Venango. Scoular’s new Grainton shuttle loader provides high-speed loading and unloading capabilities and has track capacity for 110 cars. The facility has the capability to receive farmer grain at a rate of 45,000 bushels per hour, even while loading out railcars at 60,000 bushels per hour. That is five times the loadout volume than before the upgrade. 

Previously, Scoular’s Grainton facility consisted of a standard elevator with track space for 25 cars that, along with truck transportation, provided farmers access to markets primarily in southwest Nebraska and Colorado. 

The vision for the new Grainton facility began with Regional Manager Ty Knispel and his desire to put the Perkins County, Nebraska, farmer production onto the 110-car BNSF network and supply the world with high-quality produced grains.    

At the new facility, the Nebraska, Kansas, & Colorado Railway (NKCR), an affiliate of the OmniTRAX rail network, provides access to the BNSF mainline, opening farmers to markets in such places as Mexico and Texas. Officials with BNSF and OmniTRAX, the Colorado based parent company of the NKCR, joined Scoular leaders at Thursday’s event. 

The upgrade: 

• Quadruples track capacity to 110 cars. 
• Expands storage capacity to 6 million bushels with new twin, 140-foot-high concrete tanks.  

• Adds two high-speed receiving legs and two receiving pits, boosting unloading speed and efficiency as well as adding a high-speed shipping leg to the new facility. 
• Enhances sustainability by taking greater advantage of the fuel efficiency of moving grain by rail versus by truck.  

“Our company thrives on helping farmers and customers succeed, and this facility is a great example of our service to them,” said Ron Bingham, Scoular Senior Vice President and Grain Division Manager. “With these upgrades, farmers will get in and out quickly, and we know how important that is for them.” 

The upgrades follow major improvements completed this summer at Scoular facilities in Pratt and Coolidge in Kansas, and in Adrian, Missouri. Those facilities and Grainton are part of Scoular’s Midwestern grain handling network that includes over 50 facilities in Missouri, Iowa, Illinois, Kansas, Colorado and Nebraska.