ARTCO, Castlen Steel Partner On Ohio River Terminal
Castlen Steel and American River Transportation Company (ARTCO) are partnering for barge fleeting and cleaning to serve the Owensboro, Ky., and Rockport, Ind., areas and expect to operate a new fertilizer facility starting this fall.
Beginning in January, ARTCO, a wholly owned subsidiary of Archer Daniels Midland (ADM), signed a long-term lease for a fleeting area from Castlen at Castlen’s new terminal at Ohio River Mile 752, said Doug Caylor, manager of Castlen’s terminal operations.
“We have fleeting for 25 barges, which has been leased to ARTCO, ADM’s barge division,” Caylor said. “On top of that, we’re providing barge cleaning services and barge repairing services as well.”
ARTCO also has fleeting just upstream at Mile 749.
ADM is also preparing to move some fertilizer operations into a new warehouse being built at the Castlen terminal.
“We will have blending capabilities, product-coding capabilities, and will receive inbound by barge, outbound by truck and rail,” said Jackie Anderson, ADM spokeswoman.
Castlen broke ground on the warehouse last month, and it could be ready as soon as October, Caylor said. It will include five to seven different bins for various types of fertilizers and commodities, allowing for custom blending and labeling services, he said.
Caylor said he expected 70,000 tons or more of material to be barged in annually and sent to the warehouse by conveyor.
As a result of the partnership, Castlen is hiring seven new employees, Caylor said. ADM expects to employ about two dozen people between the barge fleeting/cleaning and fertilizer facilities.
“Castlen Steel is an industry-known name and has provided services to ADM in the past,” she said. “Castlen will operate the fertilizer facility, with ARTCO operating our barge fleeting and cleaning services.”
Castlen Enterprises, a sister company to Castlen Steel, broke ground on the new terminal, adjacent to its existing steel facility, in May 2020 and completed it late last year. It includes twin conveyors and a walk-through truss with about 1,200 tons-per-hour capacity and the ability to go direct to truck or rail from river, Castlen President Matt Castlen previously said.
ADM, based in Chicago, serves customers across the supply chain as an agricultural origination and processing company, specializing in both products for human and animal consumption. In 2020, it ranked No. 54 in the Fortune 500 list of the largest U.S. corporations.
