Cavendish adds to business mix in Fort Fairfield

Cavendish adds to business mix in Fort Fairfield

Staff photo/Jon Gulliver

    OPEN FOR BUSINESS — Cavendish Agri Services’ new $5.7 million fertilizer plant in Fort Fairfield is now open. Taking part in a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Friday were, from left, Robert Irving, president Cavendish Agri Services; Walt Whitcomb, Maine commissioner of agriculture; Deb Neuman, deputy commissioner of the Maine Department of Economic and Community Development; Dan Foster, Fort Fairfield town manager; and Blaine MacPherson, general manager Cavendish Agri Services.

By Jon Gulliver

    FORT FAIRFIELD — Cavendish Agri Services’ new $5.7 million fertilizer plant and mixing system in Fort Fairfield is now serving growers in Maine and New Brunswick following an elaborate open house and ribbon-cutting ceremony on Friday.
    On hand to officially kick off production were hundreds of people, from growers, to industry folks, local officials and politicians.
    Robert Irving, president of Cavendish Agri Services, told the crowd, “This investment underscores our commitment to grow along with our customers in Maine and New Brunswick and to meet their ever-changing needs for high-yielding, high-quality crops.”
    The Fort Fairfield plant, which replaces one recently closed in Caribou, is the first fertilizer plant to be built in Maine in many decades according to company officials. It is also one of the largest in New England.

Staff photo/Jon Gulliver
    BIG FACILITY — Cavendish Agri Services’ new $5.7 million fertilizer plant in Fort Fairfield is now open. The 45,500 square foot facility is one of the largest fertilizer plants in New England. It officially opened for business last Friday. 
    The processing equipment — called Declining Weight Blend System — is designed to deliver improved accuracy and blending speeds. Compared to older plants, it should dramatically reduce the time required to fill a typical 16-ton farm truck from 35 to four minutes.
    Maine’s Commissioner of Agriculture Walt Whitcomb also attended Friday’s ceremonies.
    “Innovation and productivity are the keys to survival in today’s global markets,” he said. “We are pleased to see the continuation of the longstanding partnership between growers and the Cavendish Agri Services team.”
    Among some other features of the new plant are: a building footprint of just over one acre at 46,500 square feet; 20,000 tons of capacity; a receiving system from rail or truck to storage; and a computer-operated blending system equipped with sensors and scales to monitor accuracy in real-time.
    Construction on the facility began back in August of last year after discussions with town and development officials. One of those officials was Fort Fairfield Town Manager Dan Foster, who also took a turn at the microphone during the opening ceremony.
    “I would say that by any stretch or definition of doing it right that this facility is definitely done right,” said Foster.
    He also went on to thank Cavendish and Irving for investing in Fort Fairfield and northern Maine.
    Following the roughly 30 minutes of speeches, Gilles Michaud of Caswell, a longtime Cavendish customer, and Robert Irving, pressed the ceremonial button to start the fertilizer mixing apparatus for the crowd,
    During construction, the plant generated more than 26,000 person hours of work and utilized the goods and services of 18 Maine contractors, with the primary ones being Buck Construction, Soderberg Construction, K-Pel Industrial Services, Underwood Electric and CES Inc. At the peak of construction about 50 workers were on-site.
    Sales staff in Maine and New Brunswick will support the Fort Fairfield plant, located at 536 Houlton Road.