CHS

Inver Grove Heights, Minnesota

CHS, a diversified energy, grains and food company, plays a pivotal role in ensuring its customers have the products they need, when they need them. A Fortune 200 company, CHS is the largest farmer-owned cooperative in the United States. Operations reach from the Great Lakes to the Pacific Northwest, and from the Canadian border to Texas. With roots dating back 75 years, CHS is the nation’s largest cooperative marketer of grain, and the third largest U.S. exporter of grain.

At its Superior, Wisconsin facility, 52 employees ensure that spring wheat and durum wheat harvested from farms in North Dakota and Minnesota are distributed through a network that spans seven U.S. cities and four continents, backed by local operations in North and South America. On an annual basis, CHS transports more than a billion bushels of grain to domestic destinations as well as to more than 60 countries.

Tim Paurus, vice president of terminal operations, said: “CHS shipped 1.6 million tons of grain to its clients on the Great Lakes and internationally. The grain is used for couscous in Africa, and bread and pasta throughout the European countries.”

“Our closely coordinated storage and transportation network ensures timely and cost-efficient delivery for the freshest possible food products.”  CHS contracts with Seaway Marine and Fednav for vessels to move product.

“Our Great Lakes terminal benefits farmers in North Dakota and Minnesota by keeping costs competitive, and at the same time allowing us to handle the expanding Western European markets.”

“During the summer and fall of 2010 we were extremely busy as we moved wheat through the Port of Superior to meet global needs due to the Russian drought and their government ban on exports. We would not have been able to meet those needs without access to the Great Lakes-Seaway System.”