Feed Commodities is a feed and grain business located in Tacoma, Wash. The company recycles bakery by-products into animal feed for use in the dairy and poultry industries. In early 2009, president Jim Seley found that lack of warehousing space was becoming an issue and needed to act quickly to take advantage of rising opportunities within the industry.
“We needed a new building to add warehousing space so that we could introduce a new product to our end users,” Seley says. “We had a tight timeline to do this in, or we would have missed a great opportunity.”
Seley began researching online for possible warehouse options and decided to install a 100-foot wide by 100-foot long fabric building and worked closely with the supplier to erect the structure in about 30 days (ClearSpan, clearspan.com).
The structure is working well for the company, and Seley says the extra space has more than one advantage.
“We are using the space for much more than anticipated. Apparently, if we have covered space, we will use it,” he says. “We converted the parking lot into a building without losing any of the parking lot functions. I can park equipment inside, but if I need the space for something else, I have a great covered space.”
The structure’s open interior allows ample space and height for material and equipment, and the natural lighting that filters through the cover is an added benefit.