Several members of the Stegmann family are actively involved in the operation of Lange-Stegmann and AGROTAIN International, following in the footsteps of grandfather Henry Lange who started the company with his brother, and father Rich Stegmann who serves as chairman of the company. Rick Stegmann is Operations Manager for the new granulation production facility and urea storage warehouse that opened this week in St. Louis.
Rick explained the river station barge unloading operation portion of the facility. “The majority of urea comes in from New Orleans by barge and St. Louis is the northernmost lock-free, ice-free port on the Mississippi River,” he said. “And so we are able to bring barges up and off load them either into storage, into truck or into rail.”
The operation is extremely efficient, handling in excess of 500 tons an hour. “We can do four barges a day, a barge is average of 1500 tons, so that’s 6,000 tons in 24 hours,” Rick said.
Rick says the new facility is the future of Lange-Stegmann and AGROTAIN International. He attributes the success and longevity of the company to the core values that his grandfather and father instilled in not only the family members involved in the business, but also the rest of the employees, who are treated like family.
Listen to an interview with Rick Stegmann here: agro-rick.mp3