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Photo by Elliot J. Sutherland/The Ottawa Herald
Kurt Hodges, of Thomas Concrete, sprays a sealer onto a newly poured concrete pad Wednesday afternoon at East Central Chemical, 616 Locust St., Wellsville. The company is expanding its facilities to include a new warehouse.
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Chemical facility works on ‘EPA-friendly’ expansion
By LINDA BROWN, The Herald Staff
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East Kansas Chemical, 616 Locust St., Wellsville, is working on a 5,000-square-foot expansion to improve its ability to help farmers.
“This expansion is going to benefit local farmers with lower prices, competitive pricing and accessibility to the products they need,” Mark Kramer, branch manager, said.
The new facility uses state-of-the-art technology for the handling of herbicide and pesticide materials. Kramer said most of the company’s chemicals are liquid. The tanks holding those liquids are monitored and the building itself is entirely in containment.
“That means we’re completely EPA friendly,” Kramer said. “Any spills or leakage we can handle ourselves and put no one at risk.”
Crop Life magazine has named the company one of the top 100 dealers in the ag chemical business for a number of years, Kramer said. The business is growing.
“We’ve had a 40 to 50 percent growth this year and anticipate another 30 to 40 percent in 2009,” Kramer said. “We’ve become a more service-oriented business, and our staff is very knowledgeable. ... All the way to the harvest, we help with growth, weed control and disease control.”
While it’s taken a number of years to get the expansion going and approved, Kramer said the planning and wait have been worth it.
“It puts us in a position of stewardship for the community and our customers,” he said.
East Kansas Chemical was founded in the early 1970s by Wellsville farmer Carl Coffman. The company serves 26 states and is headquartered in Kingsdown.
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