It was a lesson in Murphy’s law.
A fire, an explosion and a lightning strike all hit Simplot Canada’s fertilizer plant at Brandon, Man., in the past 12 months.
The fire happened last September, one day after the company started production at its newly upgraded plant. A hydrogen leak fueled the fire, which spewed flames up to 10 metres long.
No one was injured, but the mishap forced Simplot to use its two older plants while the new one, imported from Sicily, was fixed.
Then came a blast last June that again forced Simplot to close its new ammonia plant for repairs. The explosion blew apart a section of furnace used to heat natural gas.
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Last month, lightning knocked out the plant’s power, setting production back a day.
“We’ve had a few bumps in the road in getting this plant on stream,” said Steve Beebe, president and chief executive officer of the J.R. Simplot Company.
During a celebration of Simplot’s upgrade at Brandon, Beebe recalled some of the other challenges the company encountered.
Because the new plant was from Sicily, it had to be taken apart, shipped across the ocean and then reassembled in Brandon. Manitoba’s cold winters also slowed construction at the site. The new plant ended up a year behind schedule and $30 million over budget.
But all those bumps were forgotten Sept. 15 during a celebration of Simplot’s $240 million upgrade at Brandon. The plant can produce 1,250 tonnes of anhydrous ammonia per day. The company said its production targets were met throughout the summer.
“We’re here to stay,” Beebe vowed. “Anyone who wants to compete with us in this area is going to have to be awful good.”
