A new landmark is on the horizon for Vancouver.
United Grain Corporation (UGC) began the first phase of a $72 million building operation this week with the continuous pour concrete construction of a 340-foot tall building at the Port of Vancouver. The building, used for grain cleaning and shipping, is part of an overall project that will add 24 storage silos, with a capacity of 60,000 metric tons of storage for wheat, corn and soybean.
To get a sense of the building’s final height, imagine the 50-foot tall clock tower at Esther Short Park, then picture seven of them, placed end on end, towering along Vancouver’s shoreline. The entire project will use 20,000 cubic yards of concrete.
Construction is expected to be completed next summer, according to Anthony Flagg, vice president for UGC, a subsidiary of Japan-based Mitsui. However,m the first portion of the project, which is under way now, is expected to finish by Thursday or Friday of next week with a continuous, around-the-clock concrete pour.
“You can look up every morning and you’ll see (the skyline) change,” said Flagg, adding that this pour will result in Vancouver’s tallest structure.
Port spokeswoman Theresa Wagner said UGC currently exports about three million tons of wheat from the terminal, which accounts for 16 percent of the nation’s total exports. The expansion will add another two million tons of annual export capacity and add corn and soybean to the mix. The food is transported to the site via train car from silos in Montana, the Dakotas, Oregon, Washington and Idaho.
Flagg said two key factors influenced the company’s decision to expand: The Columbia River dredging project, which finished in December, and emerging middle classes in Asia and the Middle East.
With the dredging project, which took 20 years and cost $190 million, larger ships are able to dock at the Port of Vancouver and other Columbia River ports. These larger ships have a greater storage capacity, reducing shipping costs.
“The whole key is trying to get as much volume through there as you possibly can,” Flagg explained.
In Asia and the Middle East, Flagg said more people in growing middle class ranks are eating meat and buying corn, soybeans and white bread – a trend he expects to continue.
Meanwhile, UGC recently relocated their corporate offices from Portland to Vancouver, a move that gets more of the company’s 60 employees closer to their Vancouver homes and closer to the company’s operations.
For the port, UGC’s ongoing grain project is good news, with more expansions on the horizon.
“We’re looking at tripling our exports in the next five to 10 year,” Wagner said.
