MURRAY EQUIPMENT INC./ICS

By Murray Equipment|July 1, 2021

WHAT THEY NEEDED

When a fire burned down the chemical shed at GRAINCO FS Inc.’s Mazon, IL location, it presented an opportunity to fully automate the location and redesign the equipment from the ground up. GRAINCO FS’s Mazon location specializes in producing hot loads in addition to straight chemical and fertilizer loads. The company fills both its own vehicles and sprayers as well as customers’ tanks. “We had a few simple product presets before,” explained Brian Mino, GRAINCO FS Operations Manager. “Now, with full automation, we have a lot more product diversity.” Speed and accuracy were at the forefront — producing the right blends in a timely manner. GRAINCO FS needed an equipment and automation provider that would give them the flexibility to produce the multitude of blends required by their customers, accurately, and quickly. Having worked with Murray Equipment and used that company’s ICS controls previously, the decision was easy for GRAINCO.

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GRAINCO FS’s new liquid fertilizer and crop chemical building is part of a larger multi-service location in Mazon, IL.
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The location features 3 loadout bays, 1.18 million gallons of liquid fertilizer, and 65,000 gallons herbicide.
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Production and loadout are controlled by ICS 240c with 2 expansions. The expansions are used to manage the large number of customer blends.
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The 3rd unattended bay is accessible 24/7. It is used by GRAINCO and area growers to transport product round the clock and offers both top and bottom loadout.
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The intuitive ICS 24-7-8 Controls vertify drivers and equipment. The same ICS Control Pro software that runs the facility is used in the touch screen control panel for seamless operation.
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A conveniently located touch screen panel allows employees to quickly create accurate batches.
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The facility features 2 bottom load attended bay that specialize in hot loads.
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Semis can be loaded in less than 15 minutes. Previously it would take more than 45 minutes.
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All the equipment, plumbing, metering, and controls were engineered by Murray Equipment. The goal was to offer an extensive line of liquid fertilizers, chemicals, and hot loads.
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MEI’s unparalleled understanding of both equipment and automation is behind this neat, convenient, and compact facility layout.
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An automated tote repackaging area means the location can fill small totes in addition to large semi loads.

WHAT WE DESIGNED

The 18,000-square foot facility has three load-out bays — two bottomload, and a 24/7 unattended load-out with top and bottom load, a mini-bulk filling station, 1 million gallon solution tank, 180,000 gallons of liquid fertilizer, and 65,000 gallons of bulk herbicide storage. ICS ControlPro software connects with GRAINCO FS’s agronomy software bringing in ticket, formula, and material information. It also manages equipment and customer information for the unattended bay. The two attended bays are managed by ICS 240c touchscreen control boxes. The unattended bay features a touchscreen control box with full keyboard for equipment/ driver verification. “We get along great with ICS. The support is good. It’s easy to run,” expressed Mino.