SALEM, Ohio — When the Coshocton Grain Co. re-opens its Browns Lane facility in a few days, it will do so with the expertise of Interstate Commodities Incorporated, a New York-based grain marketing company that works with feed mills across the Midwest.
Lease agreement
ICI will serve as the operating arm, said Coshocton Grain CEO Rhoda Sue Crown, and ICI will provide marketing services to improve demand for the commodities.
Coshocton Grain will retain ownership and staffing of the Browns Lane facility, as well as its Hebron, Ohio, facility.
“We think it’s a great endeavor that we’re going to be going into,” said Crown, noting that the decision was also approved by the mill’s shareholders.
The lease agreement was announced Sept. 24, about two weeks before Coshocton Grain Co. plans to re-open its Coshocton facility, following a catastrophic explosion and fire in August 2014, that left seven people injured.
The explosion and fire was related to a bearing that went bad, and the incident was determined to be an accident.
Getting ready
Coshocton Grain’s rebuilt facility has been in the testing process, and hopes to re-open Oct. 5.
“Combined with the strength of ICI’s domestic and international marketing capabilities, this agreement will be beneficial to both companies and the community,” according to a statement by Coshocton Grain.
ICI is a third-generation, family-owned business that markets more than 30 commodities domestically and internationally, for an annual sales volume of more than $2 billion.
Industry experience
ICI operates grain storage facilities in Ohio and throughout the country, and also exports grain and feed ingredients and runs a full-service railcar leasing company.
Coshocton Grain is a privately owned corporation with grain elevators in Ohio and Edgar County, Illinois. The elevator handles corn and soybeans, and began operations on Browns Lane in 1948, with the current shareholders gaining ownership in 1993.
