Alter Logistics expands its river terminal in St. Paul

Alter Logistics Co., headquartered in Bettendorf, has positioned its river terminal in St. Paul, Minnesota, for future growth with the construction of a new dry fertilizer warehouse and other infrastructure improvements.   Alter Logistics, which operates the Alter River Terminal St. Paul and a terminal in Rock Island, celebrated the completion of the $25 million St. […]

Alter Logistics Co., headquartered in Bettendorf, has positioned its river terminal in St. Paul, Minnesota, for future growth with the construction of a new dry fertilizer warehouse and other infrastructure improvements.   Alter Logistics, which operates the Alter River Terminal St. Paul and a terminal in Rock Island, celebrated the completion of the $25 million St. Paul project with a ribbon cutting in early August. 

The terminal project, which has been under construction for nearly 18 months, included a new 40,000-ton fertilizer warehouse, 6,000 feet of new railroad track installed, a stormwater retention installation and other site and equipment upgrades.   Alter Logistics Chairman and CEO Jeff Goldstein said the Alter River Terminal St. Paul  improvements will double the terminal’s capacity and “grew out of our strong relationship with the Saint Paul Port Authority.”  The project was a private-public partnership between Alter, the port authority and the Minnesota Department of Transportation (DOT). Alter Logistics, a Midwest transloading company, is part of the family of companies owned by the Bettendorf-based Goldstein Group Inc., which also owns Alter Trading Company in St. Louis. That company was founded in 1898.  Alter Logistics’ Quad Cities terminal is located at 700 Mill St., Rock Island.  Mr. Goldstein, who is the fourth generation to lead Alter along with his brothers Rob and Rich Goldstein, said planning for the St. Paul expansion began four years ago when Alter Logistics was advised of a new Minnesota DOT grant program available for rail infrastructure improvements by Kathryn Sarnecki, the port authority’s senior vice president.  The St. Paul Port Authority applied and received the $1.8 million grant to improve the rail track that services Alter’s terminal. The grant set Alter’s own capital improvements into motion.  In all, he added, the expansion represents $25 million in new capital investment, the majority of which were private investments made by Alter.    As part of the project, Alter turned to its long-term customer, ADM, to discuss how ADM could significantly expand its fertilizer volumes and capacity in St. Paul with the infrastructure improvements. Minneapolis-based ADM Fertilizer will use Alter’s new warehouse under a long-term contract, he said, adding that ADM has relied on Alter and its transloading services for the past 13 or 14 years.  The expansion project connected Alter’s existing 17,000-ton fertilizer warehouse system with its new, more spacious 40,000-ton warehouse as well as integrated the terminal’s water, rail and road transportation access. The project also included a barge unloading system capable of unloading 800 tons per hour and a 400-tons-per-hour rail unloading system. The facility also incorporates Sackett-Wasconia’s high-speed precision blending systems with 250 tons of overhead storage.  “Alter St. Paul’s unique and hard-to-replicate location with its multimodal capabilities on the Mississippi connects shippers and their customers, creates efficient supply chains and enables shippers to find their least cost alternatives to get their products to market,” said Paul Ferguson, Alter Logistics’ senior vice president.  The project was designed and built by Marcus Construction, based in Willmar, Minnesota. TKDA Engineering in St. Paul was involved in all aspects of the three projects including supervising construction of the new warehouse.   Mr. Goldstein said the project will significantly enhance the modal logistics exchange opportunities between the river, rail and road. “This could not have come to successful completion without the efforts of Alter’s leadership team consisting of Senior Vice President Paul Ferguson, Marketing Vice President Tom Streight, Facility Manager Steve Sauro and Director of Operations Jeremy Goldstein,” he said, adding “Their contributions were invaluable.” The expansion has created about five new jobs on top of the existing 11 employees, he said.  About five years ago, the St. Paul Port Authority and Alter River Terminal St. Paul partnered on construction of a new heavy lift pad that provided a new transload site for oversized and overweight specialized cargos – accommodating lifts of up to 300 tons each. That project also involved a Minnesota DOT funding grant and matching funds by Alter. It is located on the authority’s property on 20 acres that is leased to Alter. Sister company Alter Metal Recycling is located on an adjacent 17 acres there.