A $76-million expansion project in Windsor is now complete.
Archer Daniels Midland Company (ADM) held at ribbon cutting ceremony Thursday morning at its grain terminal on Maplewood Drive near Sprucewood Avenue.
In January 2024, the company announced it was improving its truck loading capacity by creating a new roadway and kiosk system.
ADM also announced the installation of new grain dryers and said it would increase its grain storage capacity.
ADM General Manager for the Great Lakes Region Kevin Wright says the four projects are now operational and says the work finished 'ahead of schedule'.
He says finishing the work early helps, especially having the new grain dryers completed.
"Those will allow farmers to bring soy beans directly from out of the field and if they got a little bit of moisture in them, we can condition them for either processing or exports," he says.
Wright says expanding the site was crucial.
"We had really reached out limits on capacity on what we can do and now we're going to be able to buy more grain from farmers and supply our customers more efficiently and have the opportunity to export more grain," says Wright.
Wright says the expansion allows the company to maintain jobs.
He says 150 people work at the complex.
Port Windsor President and CEO Steve Salmons says the project is the single largest in the history of Port Windsor.
"This means not only have we traditional bought 75 per cent of the grains from here to London, it means up to another 400,000 tonne a year," says Salmons. "That's just ship, after ship of new grain going to world market, supporting our farmers, local workers, local industry. This is just a massive, massive project."
The federal government invested $26.3-million towards the expansion project.