Construction will begin in February and will be completed in June in time for corn harvest.
"Adding the second pit will more than double our capacity for unloading the trucks brought in by our farmer customers," said Rob Nordmeyer, farm service group manager at Topeka. "This will greatly reduce the time the drivers have to wait until they can unload their grain."
Nordmeyer said the additional capacity will also reduce energy costs through a more efficient flow of product into the elevator.
The elevator can currently unload 15,000 bushels per hour from trucks. The second unloading pit will add another 25,000. The facility also has two additional unloading areas that can accommodate both trucks and rails cars with a combined capacity of 47,000 bushels per hour.
"With the addition of the new unloading pit, our maximum potential unload capacity will be 87,000 bushels per hour," Nordmeyer said.
Cargill employs 28 at its Topeka grain elevator, helping farmers with grain handling, crop insurance and grain marketing needs. The Topeka elevator purchases corn, soybeans, hard red winter wheat and sorghum from farmers in Northeast and East Central, Kansas, U.S.
