In early 2023 one longtime fertilizer-mining company in Idaho chose to transition from truck unload—the model they’d used for decades—to rail unload. Instead of trucking and dumping with smaller conveyors to the stacker, a rail pit was installed; Dome Technology, then, increased the capacity by fabricating a new upgraded trans conveyor and the stacker system.
“The additional capacity of the new rail unloading was way beyond what the existing conveyors for the facility could accommodate,” Dome Technology sales manager Heath Harrison said. “We built replacement conveyors that could increase the rate to handle the rail receiving as opposed to the original truck transfer the mine had depended on.”
Product stacking in this new configuration was also a major consideration. The mining company utilizes an outside pile, allowing their plant to stockpile product when operations pause for the winter. The previous configuration featured a hammerhead stacker that moved back and forth. Dome Technology’s scope of work also included upgrading the stacker equipment, including everything from the rail pit to the stacker. These improvements will allow the company to control how product is stored, building up the pile where necessary and boosting operational flexibility. The new version tilts and spans the entire front side of the storage.
Fabrication is a necessity for massive projects like upgrading a fertilizer storage facility. For decades, Dome Technology has specialized in bulk storage, but in recent years the team has turned up the dial on fabrication know-how. Today, Dome Technology builds structural-steel features—ladders, catwalks, and the like—to support fertilizer-storage facilities.