Central Valley, a wholesale and retail distributor of fertilizer in Tamora, Nebraska, US, needed to replace a storage building that was damaged by rust and wind. The building was used to store 40,000t of fertilizer in several storage bays. After examining options, Central Valley chose Legacy Building Solutions to design and install a new fabric building.
"The damage to the old building cost hundreds of thousands of dollars over the years," said Dan McBride, operations manager at Central Valley.
"We repaired the building twice, but we couldn’t keep dealing with lost time and product damage."
Time, constant exposure to corrosive fertiliser and heavy winds had caused the fabric to detach from the frame of the old building. Once the fabric attachment was compromised, the building and its contents were vulnerable to the elements, including corrosion. The new building, the first Legacy building on site, features a solid steel frame and a permanent fabric attachment system.
The new building will withstand the elements, as well as corrosive materials in and around the building. The rigid steel frame is engineered to meet building codes for the area, including wind and snow. An interior fabric liner adds corrosion protection to the inside of the building, negating the corrosive impact of stored fertiliser. The liner seals the frame off from the interior, completely eliminating contact between frame and materials stored in the building.
Both the main cavity of the building and the liner cavity have separate ventilation systems, which will prevent condensation in all parts of the building.
"We liked the ventilation options in the Legacy building," said McBride.
"Moisture causes problems for us beyond just rust, it causes cleanliness issues and product loss."
The new fertiliser building measures 120ft-wide by 482ft-long. Because both buildings have the same dimensions and capacity, about 40,000t, the new building uses the existing foundation. Legacy Building Solutions provided factory-trained crews to dismantle the old building and install the new building on site in Tamora.