News

BBC Star Opens Grain Store For The 21st Century

July 2011 -- BBC Countryfile presenter, Adam Henson, was the guest of honour at the official opening of Wessex Grain’s new storage facility. The new store is part of a £2.5 million pound investment, which the company has made to ensure it can best meet the needs of farmers and grain customers in today’s highly dynamic markets.

Commenting on the opening, Adam Henson said, “The development undertaken by Wessex Grain is extraordinary and I was truly blown away by the scale of this operation. The company has achieved the perfect balance; it is big enough to provide the level of professional service its clients need, but small enough to care about every aspect of their relationships.

“The investment that Wessex Grain has made in the future of arable farming is really exciting and it is places such as these that make it such an electrifying marketplace for the younger farming generations coming through higher education.”

Simon Wilcox, managing director of Wessex Grain, said: “We are delighted to have now completed this phase of development on the site and it has put us in a fantastic position to offer our customers the highest level of service, and to meet the needs of farmers in the 21st century. More and more farmers are considering the benefits of central storage and this investment ensures we have the very best ‘state of the art’ facilities.”

The investment has seen Wessex Grain dramatically increase its storage capacity, with two new 2,000 tonne silos, two new 1,000 tonne silos and a brand new 17,000 tonne flat store. This brings the facility’s overall capacity to 70,000 tonnes.

Simon continued, “Our facility now boasts a throughput of 120 tonnes per hour thanks to investment in upgraded conveyors and elevators throughout the 10 acre site. This has been complemented with two new loading bins, a bulk out-loading facility and a new cleaner. The new machinery is now all operated by a cutting edge computer control and monitoring system. As a result we are able to ensure that the facility is optimised to work at maximum capacity and offers best value and service.”

The project undertaken by Wessex Grain was part financed with funds secured from the Rural Development Programme for England (RDPE), delivered by the South West of England Regional Development Agency, Natural England and the Forestry Commission, with DEFRA as the managing authority.

Mark Newman, Relationship Director for Lloyds Bank Corporate Markets in the South West, said: “Now is a very exciting time for Wessex Grain and we’re really pleased to be supporting the business’s growth by helping to fund this fantastic new grain store. It’s a real delight to be working with a company which plays such a vital role in the regional agricultural community.”