As the harvest season is getting into full swing, managers of Agrokoncerno grūdai elevators from all over Lithuania gathered to discuss the work they have done and the challenges and topicalities of preparing for the season. This is a particularly busy time for both farmers and grain buyers.
According to Karolis Šimas, Head of Agrokoncerno grūdai, all elevators are fully prepared for the harvest season. Over the last few years, investments have also focused on upgrading, optimising, increasing throughput and improving infrastructure.
The Kėdainiai elevator has been renovated and equipped with additional above-ground warehouses, which increase the storage capacity by an additional 25,000 tonnes. This will allow a significant increase in the rate of grain acceptance.
Grain receiving yards have been installed and expanded at Ignalina, Radžiūnai (Alytus district) and Bridžiai (Šakiai district) grain elevators, which will also allow to significantly speed up the grain receiving process.
Agrokoncerno grūdai has also purchased additional dipping machines, which reduce the time needed to determine the quality of wheat by almost half. They will be used in elevators with the highest loads.
A large part of the investment was spent on the repair and renovation of the Rokiškis elevator building. The upgrade of the elevator’s equipment and systems will allow maximum capacity utilisation of Lithuania’s largest grain elevator. The elevator has also been equipped with a grain receiving bay, which will significantly speed up the rate of grain reception. Whereas before these upgrades the elevator had a maximum capacity of around 115,000 tonnes of grain, it now has a capacity of over 150,000 tonnes.
All repairs and improvements to the elevators are carried out with Agrokoncerno grūdai’s own funds, without any external support. It is hoped that the repaired silos will be able to operate for decades to come.
The company manager K. Šimas estimates that this year alone, a total of around €4.5 million has already been invested in upgrading the network of elevators.
“These investments have undoubtedly increased the efficiency of the elevators. Higher loads and faster grain intake and discharge speeds not only make the work of elevator staff easier, but also save time for farmers. This will not be the last investment. Our aim is to optimise processes as much as possible,” says the CEO.
UAB “Agrokoncerno grūdai” is the largest grain buyer in Lithuania, buying about 1.5 million tonnes of grain from farmers every year. The company’s activity includes buying, cleaning, sorting, drying, storing, transporting and exporting grain.
