Buffers are under construction at the Trupointe site north of Milford. When completed they will offer a 15- to 20-foot barrier between the firm’s business area and the houses to the east of the property. The fertilizer and agronomy hub is set to open in the spring of 2014. (Photo by Deb Patterson)

For more than an hour Monday night Mike Jackson spoke to members of the Milford Lions Club and a number of guests about Trupointe Cooperative Inc.’s building a full-service agricultural hub and grain handling facility on 275 acres just north of Milford. The land has been rezoned from agricultural to heavy industrial.

The fertilizer and agronomy hub is scheduled to open in the spring of 2014. A grain facility is scheduled to open in 2015. The facility, according to Jackson, is expected to serve farmers in a 60-plus mile area.

According to the card Jackson handed out, Trupointe will have 2.5 million gallons of fertilizer storage with five load-out bays. The total time to load a semi of product will be 17 minutes. In addition there will be 37,000 tons of fertilizer storage with two load-out bays. The total time to load a semi of product will be seven minutes.

The new facility will have access to CSX and Norfolk Southern railroad lines with capabilities of loading a 110-unit train. Both The Mail-Journal and StaceyPageOnline.com featured a photo and article in mid-March showing construction was underway with earth being moved on the northeast portion of the property, located near the intersection of CR 1400 North (the Elkhart/Kosciusko County Line Road) and CR 100 East at the site of the state-of-the-art fertilizer processing plant. Work has been progressing since that time.

Jackson gave a PowerPoint presentation and answered questions during the evening’s program. The first slide noted, “Customer Driven Shared Success.” That was his theme for the evening. He talked about why Trupointe was making the investment in Milford and noted the company is growth oriented and has a better opportunity in Milford. He said this is a good market area and the needed rail service is available in all directions.

He listed the strategy the company has of focusing on customers needs. When asked about the small farmer who does not have a semi but operates with tractor and wagon, he said the company works with everyone. In Ohio the average farm size served by the company is 1,240 acres. “It’s all important,” he said, “large and small customers.” Some things, however, he noted, the company is still working to figure out.

Questioned on whether or not there would be jobs for people in the area, he said at some point there would be 65-75 jobs to fill and a good number of those hired would be from the area. Lisa Ensz noted there is a strong FFA organization in the area and he said the company has an active intern program.

While discussing the advantages of the railroads, Jackson noted the company uses Canadian National Rail to move products to Vancouver and the Pacific Ocean. Rails also move products to the Ohio and Mississippi rivers and to deep water.

The entrance to the property will be off of CR 100 East. The road will be widened with the company providing 35 feet of land for the project. While it is normal to take property from both sides to widen a road, in this case there will be no input from the neighbors to the east.

He said the company is trying to be sensitive to the neighbors. There is a quarter-mile setback being installed with the buffers being from 15 to 20 feet tall when completed. The 54 acres of woods in the middle of the property will stay.

Asked if the company would be a benefit to the community, he noted the company supports benevolent purposes in the community and supports community events.