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AUGUSTA PLANT PRIDES ITSELF ON RELIABILITY, QUALITY AND SAFETY
As the largest nitrogen plant on the East Coast of the United States, PotashCorp's Augusta, Georgia, facility is strategically located to provide a reliable supply of high-quality products.
"The fact that we are in the heart of the Southeast gives customers access to nitrogen products they know they can count on," said
General Manager Warren Stroman. "In particular, we serve carpet, nylon and building products industries, the coal industry in West Virginia and Virgina and the farmland in the region."
About 80 percent of the plant's shipped products go to industrial customers, with fertilizer customers taking about 19 percent and the animal feed industry using 1 percent.
Its annual capacities are 758,000 tons of ammonia, 475,000 tons of urea prills, 596,000 tons of nitric acid, 593,000 tons of ammonium
nitrate prills, and 486,000 tons of numerous nitrogen solutions.
AUGUSTA ADVANTAGES
The advanced technology used in the ammonia plant makes it one of the most modern and energy efficient in North America. Efficient operation is backed up by on-site environmental and quality control laboratories, where chemists and analysts supply round-the-clock analysis to ensure product quality.
"When you combine Augusta's ability to ship products to so much of the eastern half of the US with its high degree of product quality
and production reliability, you can see why customers feel safe in buying from PotashCorp," said Bernie Rock, Vice President of PotashCorp Industrial Sales. "The advantages of buying from a provider you can trust are numerous.
"For example, we are in complete control of our nitrogen products from the beginning of the manufacturing process to the point of delivery. With some imported products, customers don't know how many different sources make up a huge bulk shipment, or whether the product has been transported in contaminant-free containers at every step in the process."
Augusta's products are delivered to customers by rail and by road. The CSX Railroad main line runs beside the site. Solutions, nitric acid, ammonia products, ammonium nitrate prills, and urea prill products are loaded and delivered via rail. In 2007, the Augusta plant shipped over 800,000 tons of products in railcars.
Many truck lines are available, and all types of trucks are accommodated. Loading points include a centralized one for most liquid products and various specialty product loading locations. Solutions, nitric acid, ammonia products, ammonium nitrate prills, and urea prill products are shipped in trucks. The Augusta plant can ship close to 1.5 million tons of product per year in trucks.
With both railcars and trucks, we recognize the importance of a thorough inspection of the container to ensure it is free of contaminants, and that it is clean and leakproof.
RECENT IMPROVEMENTS
In 2007, Augusta's ammonia plant and nitric acid plant were both overhauled during scheduled shutdowns.
The efforts resulted in even greater production reliability and increased capacity. The nitric acid plant went from producing about 1,050 tons per day to production of as much as 1,250 tons per day, Stroman said. The ammonia plant's capacity grew from about 2,050 tons per day to nearly 2,300 tons per day, he said.
"We're very pleased; it's as if we've got two new plants now," Stroman said.
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