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Down on the farm? Not this silo

Date Posted: November 28 2003

The building trades and general contractor Graycor are moving towards completing a massive 106-foot diameter, 185-foot-tall silo in Detroit that purportedly has the largest capacity in North America.

The silo and related structures, which are owned by cement manufacturer LaFarge Midwest, are located just off the Detroit River in a heavily industrialized area near Zug Island. The new facility will replace a cement plant that's being demolished east of the Renaissance Center as part of a renovation/beautification plan for the City of Detroit.

The new silo went up after a round-the-clock, 14-day concrete pour by the building trades that wrapped up Nov. 4. With the use of slip-form jacking process at a slow-but steady rate of 25-30 yards of concrete per hour, more than 6,700 yards of concrete were poured to create the walls of the silo.

"It was a continuous pouring and jacking process all the way up, and we had to optimize the concrete mixture so that it didn't set to fast or too slow," said Graycor Project Manager Brian Feckler. The process was completed one day ahead of schedule.

"The safety was excellent, we had no incidents," Feckler added. "Everyone wanted it to be a success, and that's what happened." At peak employment, about 150 Hardhats were on the project.

Inside the 46,000-ton silo are 10 separate chambers, which the plant can use to hold raw materials like fly ash and slag. The plant will be capable of bagging and palletizing cement products for transport via trains, ships or trucks.

Phase One of the project is expected to be complete in January. 

SERVICING THE lifting needs of the tradespeople erecting the 18-story cement silo is Dean Hart of Operating Enginers Local 324, along with oiler Dan Watson. The crane is a Manitowac 777.

A SCAFFOLD SUPPORT section from the interior of the silo is disassembled by Bill Little of Laborers Local 334.