Digital Re-print - January | February 2013

Factors affecting silo demand and design

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In 1961 world population stood at three billion and global cereal production was 876 million tonnes. Today, Earth

is home to over seven billion people and world cereal production is 2282 million tonnes (FAO forecast).

As the world population edges ever closer to the oft-repeated nine billion, it is not just grain production which is on the rise; storage solutions are also keeping pace with growing global population.

At its most basic level, the primary func-tion of a silo is to provide protection from the elements to increase the storage life of the grains. But in addition to this, silos are a

crucial element in the overall operation, the backbone so to speak for the entire grain storage system. Handling equipment feeds into the silos, and in many cases rests on top of them. Silos support monitoring equipment

used to track grain temperature and quality.With the ability to handle a multitude

of products for customers ranging from the agriculture, to the food, bio-fuels and biomasses industries, silo manufacturers are well-poised to benefit from the growth in population and production.

Size matters“There is a general increase in demand

for grain storage and for silos of bigger capacities, not only for farmers, but also for traders, feed millers, millers and breweries,” says Alfonso Garrido, sales director of silos, Symaga, Spain. Meanwhile UK-based manu-facturer, Bentall Rowlands Storage Solutions,

will launch larger capacity grain storage silos this year.

This trend is echoed in the USA as Kirk Nelson, director of marketing and sales, grain systems division, Behlen, USA explanis. “The

size of grain storage silos has increased dra-matically over the last several years. Three to four years ago the largest corrugated grain silos in the industry were in the range of 22,000 m3.

“We recently added an additional diam-eter of silo to our Big Bin® Series of silos. We added our M48 silos (48 metre diam-eter) with capacities up 51,000 cubic meters (42,000 metric tons of wheat).”

Behlen is now offering even stronger roof systems to support the increasing weight loads supported at the peak of the silos. This has been driven by customer and contrac-tors requirements to support larger/higher capacity conveyors and structural supporting systems.

In addition to the demand for bigger silos, manufacturers are also reporting a drive towards greater flexibility in terms of design. “In the USA there is currently a push to offer additional features such as larger entry doors,” says Nelson. In response, Behlen has added a large opening equipment door to its previous offering of ‘bobcat’ doors, walk through doors, and crawl doors.

Nick Carter, technical sales and project manager, Bentall Rowlands Storage Systems,

Image above - From left: Behlen's 48 metre diameter silo with a capacity

of 51,000 cubic metres, two 40 metre diameter with 35,000 cubic

metre capacity silos, a 32 metre with a capacity of 24,000 cubic metres.

Factors affecting silo demand and design

by Alice Neal, associate editor, Grain and Feed Milling Technology, United KingdomIm

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Grain&feed millinG technoloGy38 | January - february 2013

FEATURE

In 1961 world population stood at three billion and global cereal production was 876 million tonnes. Today, Earth

is home to over seven billion people and world cereal production is 2282 million tonnes (FAO forecast).

As the world population edges ever closer to the oft-repeated nine billion, it is not just grain production which is on the rise; storage solutions are also keeping pace with growing global population.

At its most basic level, the primary func-tion of a silo is to provide protection from the elements to increase the storage life of the grains. But in addition to this, silos are a

crucial element in the overall operation, the backbone so to speak for the entire grain storage system. Handling equipment feeds into the silos, and in many cases rests on top of them. Silos support monitoring equipment

used to track grain temperature and quality.With the ability to handle a multitude

of products for customers ranging from the agriculture, to the food, bio-fuels and biomasses industries, silo manufacturers are well-poised to benefit from the growth in population and production.

Size matters“There is a general increase in demand

for grain storage and for silos of bigger capacities, not only for farmers, but also for traders, feed millers, millers and breweries,” says Alfonso Garrido, sales director of silos, Symaga, Spain. Meanwhile UK-based manu-facturer, Bentall Rowlands Storage Solutions,

will launch larger capacity grain storage silos this year.

This trend is echoed in the USA as Kirk Nelson, director of marketing and sales, grain systems division, Behlen, USA explanis. “The

size of grain storage silos has increased dra-matically over the last several years. Three to four years ago the largest corrugated grain silos in the industry were in the range of 22,000 m3.

“We recently added an additional diam-eter of silo to our Big Bin® Series of silos. We added our M48 silos (48 metre diam-eter) with capacities up 51,000 cubic meters (42,000 metric tons of wheat).”

Behlen is now offering even stronger roof systems to support the increasing weight loads supported at the peak of the silos. This has been driven by customer and contrac-tors requirements to support larger/higher capacity conveyors and structural supporting systems.

In addition to the demand for bigger silos, manufacturers are also reporting a drive towards greater flexibility in terms of design. “In the USA there is currently a push to offer additional features such as larger entry doors,” says Nelson. In response, Behlen has added a large opening equipment door to its previous offering of ‘bobcat’ doors, walk through doors, and crawl doors.

Nick Carter, technical sales and project manager, Bentall Rowlands Storage Systems,

Image above - From left: Behlen's 48 metre diameter silo with a capacity

of 51,000 cubic metres, two 40 metre diameter with 35,000 cubic

metre capacity silos, a 32 metre with a capacity of 24,000 cubic metres.

Factors affecting silo demand and design

by Alice Neal, associate editor, Grain and Feed Milling Technology, United Kingdom

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Grain&feed millinG technoloGy38 | January - february 2013

FEATURE

United Kingdom, says, “Unlike most compa-nies we do not have a ‘standard’ silo design. Our silos are designed to take into account local conditions and individual customers’ requirements and as such we are continually improving our product. This on-going proc-ess draws upon information from both the customer and erection companies”.

Similarly, Symaga designs its silos accord-ing to both customer needs and different country’s regulations. To cater to specific needs, varying capacities of hopper silos of up to 2,800 cubic metres are available, farm silos for mechanical or pneumatic loading and flat bottom silos are available for capaci-ties from 5 to 25,000 cubic metres. Special silos with lateral discharge and 670 hoppers are also made available on its wide range of products. “Symaga does not only offer a bin, but an engineering service to our custom-ers, to ensure that we develop the project together successfully,” says Garrido.

Safe storageAs global food production increases so

does the importance and awareness of food safety. Silo manufacturers have an important role to play in achieving safe storage and reduce grain loss.

For Symaga, safety is high on the list of priorities at the design stage. Symaga silos are made from galvanised or pre-lacquered steel and also include protection of outside

screws to prevent perforation by corrosion and reinforced roofs to avoid possible defor-mation from impacts.

Other features are included to ensure rainwater falls directly to the ground from the body of the silo and reduce internal temperature differences to prevent conden-sation, thereby improving the preservation of foodstuffs.

Government-backed silosThe expansion of the storage market is

also influenced by the rise in government food security programmes. The National Food Reserve Agency of Turkmenistan, for example, has added silos for its Strategic Grain Reserve Project in different locations all over the country, with storage capacity for over 300,000 tonnes of wheat.

In Nigeria, the Federal Government is constructing silos throughout the country as part of a wider drive to improve the agricultural chain. The silos, some of which are due for completion in April 2013, will help boost grain reserves, price stability and food security.

During a tour of ten silos being built in Igbariam, Anambra State, Labaran Maku, Minister of Information said, “The purpose of grain reserve is for the nation’s food secu-rity. The nation can come under disaster, can come under drought. They can come in different ways, it could be war in some

instances leading to food insecurity.”Behlen has supplied silos for numer-

ous government supported projects in countries including Jordan, Egypt, Turkey, and Saudi Arabia. “The increase in the world population continues to push the need for enhanced food security and is leading some nations to contem-plate the implementation of national grain reserves. Currently this seems to be most prevalent in grain import-ing nations. This also has an impact in grain exporting nations as they work to expand and update their export capabili-ties,” says Nelson.

Beyond the binNew locations can present new design

challenges, particularly when it comes to weather. Today it’s not enough to just store grain; a silo is expected withstand extreme wind, snow and even earth-quakes.

Symaga recently introduced the isolated and covered silos for extreme cold and warm conditions. The standard silo has been designed to allow a double sheet that creates an air layer of 75 mm in between sheets. The improved silo now can include fiberglass between the sheets to isolate them to further avoid condensation on the wall of the silo due to high temperature or extreme cold.

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FEATURE

At an competitive priceSafe storage is financially beneficial as

Nelson explains, “As the value of grain in storage increases the greater the return on investment in any system that reduces storage loss. Metal silos provide a cost effective easily implemented grain storage solution.”

However, volatile grain prices can mean producers are wary of investing in storage. “One of the biggest concerns of grain produc-ers at the moment is whether to invest in storage, because grain prices from harvest to the rest of the year can vary by 30-50 percent,” says Garrido.

So unsurprisingly, manufacturers are looking for ways to keep prices competitive. Nelson argues that larger silos, despite being more expensive to buy than their smaller counter-parts, actually represent a cost saving in the

long run. “The increase in single silo capacity has reduced the overall cost per metric ton for the development of grain storage terminals” he says.

Manufacturers are also keen to make cost savings during production with more efficient methods and materials. In 2010, Symaga fully automated production at its new factory with 15 new robots, bringing the total to 25 robots. It also acquired a 150 tonne per day profile machine for the 14-76 silo wave and a new 6 mm thickness punching machine for 6 metre wide sheets with long-cross and cross shears.

The EUR12 million (US$15.07 million) investment in modern machinery brought a huge improvement in production efficiency as compared to the company’s early days. When the company started in 1985, it took five days to produce a farm silo manually; today, 100

silos can be produced in a single day with complete automation.

“The new technologies applied to manufacture, along with the experi-ence of our technical department, enable us to offer a comprehensive solution to storage requirements in shorter periods of time,” says Garrido.

Beyond reduced delivery time, with automation, prices are kept competitive, capacity is increased and standardisation of production and reduction of human error is achieved, which leads to higher quality products.

In recent years Silos Cordoba has developed a high strength steel silo which weighs in 25 percent lighter than its predecessor. Reducing the weight has cut transport costs by 30 percent, lowered fuel consumption as fewer trucks are needed to trans-ports silos to sites, and shortened erection time. The upshot of these changes is that the products can remain competitive.

Bentall Rowlands is also looking at incor-porating new materials into its silos. “One important change to our product range going forward will be the use of the new high tensile steels that are now available. This new steel has much higher yields which brings with it some huge benefits for us all. This will allow the silos to be made from lighter gauges which will help reduce the carriage costs (in turn reducing our carbon footprint) but also making assembly easier,” says Carter.

Both the need and desire for safe and cost effective storage exists worldwide. With greater flexibility and consistent innovation, silos look set to meet this demand. As Nelson concludes, “Both a paper bag and a safe can hold your money but one provides more security and peace of mind than the other.”

Imag

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Grain&feed millinG technoloGy40 | January - february 2013

FEATURE

At an competitive priceSafe storage is financially beneficial as

Nelson explains, “As the value of grain in storage increases the greater the return on investment in any system that reduces storage loss. Metal silos provide a cost effective easily implemented grain storage solution.”

However, volatile grain prices can mean producers are wary of investing in storage. “One of the biggest concerns of grain produc-ers at the moment is whether to invest in storage, because grain prices from harvest to the rest of the year can vary by 30-50 percent,” says Garrido.

So unsurprisingly, manufacturers are looking for ways to keep prices competitive. Nelson argues that larger silos, despite being more expensive to buy than their smaller counter-parts, actually represent a cost saving in the

long run. “The increase in single silo capacity has reduced the overall cost per metric ton for the development of grain storage terminals” he says.

Manufacturers are also keen to make cost savings during production with more efficient methods and materials. In 2010, Symaga fully automated production at its new factory with 15 new robots, bringing the total to 25 robots. It also acquired a 150 tonne per day profile machine for the 14-76 silo wave and a new 6 mm thickness punching machine for 6 metre wide sheets with long-cross and cross shears.

The EUR12 million (US$15.07 million) investment in modern machinery brought a huge improvement in production efficiency as compared to the company’s early days. When the company started in 1985, it took five days to produce a farm silo manually; today, 100

silos can be produced in a single day with complete automation.

“The new technologies applied to manufacture, along with the experi-ence of our technical department, enable us to offer a comprehensive solution to storage requirements in shorter periods of time,” says Garrido.

Beyond reduced delivery time, with automation, prices are kept competitive, capacity is increased and standardisation of production and reduction of human error is achieved, which leads to higher quality products.

In recent years Silos Cordoba has developed a high strength steel silo which weighs in 25 percent lighter than its predecessor. Reducing the weight has cut transport costs by 30 percent, lowered fuel consumption as fewer trucks are needed to trans-ports silos to sites, and shortened erection time. The upshot of these changes is that the products can remain competitive.

Bentall Rowlands is also looking at incor-porating new materials into its silos. “One important change to our product range going forward will be the use of the new high tensile steels that are now available. This new steel has much higher yields which brings with it some huge benefits for us all. This will allow the silos to be made from lighter gauges which will help reduce the carriage costs (in turn reducing our carbon footprint) but also making assembly easier,” says Carter.

Both the need and desire for safe and cost effective storage exists worldwide. With greater flexibility and consistent innovation, silos look set to meet this demand. As Nelson concludes, “Both a paper bag and a safe can hold your money but one provides more security and peace of mind than the other.”

Imag

es c

ourt

esy

of S

ymag

a©

Grain&feed millinG technoloGy40 | January - february 2013

FEATURE

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