Year in Review:
Cavendish
adds to business mix in Fort Fairfield
Compiled by Kathy McCarty and Scott Mitchell Johnson
Staff Writers
FORT FAIRFIELD — Cavendish Agri Services’ new $5.7 million fertilizer plant and mixing system in Fort Fairfield began serving growers in Maine and New Brunswick following an elaborate open house and ribbon-cutting ceremony April 20.
Robert Irving, president of Cavendish Agri Services, told those in attendance, “This investment underscores our commitment to grow along with our customers in Maine and New Brunswick and to meet their ever-changing needs for high-yielding, high-quality crops.”
The Fort Fairfield plant, which replaced one recently closed in Caribou, is the first fertilizer plant to be built in Maine in many decades according to company officials. It is also one of the largest in New England.
The processing equipment — called Declining Weight Blend System — is designed to deliver improved accuracy and blending speeds. Compared to older plants, it should dramatically reduce the time required to fill a typical 16-ton farm truck from 35 to four minutes.
Among some other features of the new plant are: a building footprint of just over one acre at 46,500 square feet; 20,000 tons of capacity; a receiving system from rail or truck to storage; and a computer-operated blending system equipped with sensors and scales to monitor accuracy in real-time.
Construction on the facility began back in August 2011 after discussions with town and development officials.
Following a series of speeches, Gilles Michaud of Caswell, a longtime Cavendish customer, and Irving, pressed the ceremonial button to start the fertilizer mixing apparatus for the crowd.
During construction, the plant generated more than 26,000 person hours of work and utilized the goods and services of 18 Maine contractors, with the primary ones being Buck Construction, Soderberg Construction, K-Pel Industrial Services, Underwood Electric and CES Inc. At the peak of construction about 50 workers were on-site.
Sales staff in Maine and New Brunswick will support the Fort Fairfield plant, located at 536 Houlton Road.
