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 The
Peavey company has a long
and interesting history
in the Twin Ports, beginning
in the mid 1880s when
Frank Peavey served on
the board of directors
of the Duluth Elevator
Company, an elevator system
operating in Superior.
In 1896, Peavey purchased
the financially strapped
Belt Line Elevator Company,
also in Superior, and
took direct control of
the Duluth Elevator Company.
The two elevator systems
gave him a combined storage
capacity of 8.5 million
bushels at Superior. To
operate the elevators,
Peavey formed the Globe
Elevator Company, a name
that later became synonymous
with the Peavey operations
in the Twin Ports.
Peavey
also invested heavily
on the Duluth side of
the harbor, constructing
the Peavey-Duluth Terminal
in 1900. Peavey pioneered
the use of concrete in
North America as a fireproof
method of storing grain,
building the first concrete
grain silo in North America,
in 1899, in Minneapolis.
That silo still stands
today.
At
Duluth, Peavey constructed
the first concrete terminal
in Duluth, Peavey-Duluth
Terminal, between 1900
and 1901. At a time critical
to the development of
concrete as a construction
material for grain storage,
the Duluth silos were
put to the test when the
adjacent wood-framed Peavey
work house burned to the
waterline on February
17, 1906. The concrete
silos survived the fire,
proving their worth, and
as a result the Peavey
work house became the
last wood-framed elevator
built in the Twin Ports.
Peavey continued to operate
on both sides of the harbor
for many years.
ConAgra Foods, one of
the largest packaged food
companies in the world,
is the successor to the
Peavey legacy, acquiring
the Peavey Company in
1982. With the acquisition,
ConAgra became the largest
U.S. flour miller and
the largest publicly held
grain merchandiser.
The
ConAgra Foods story has
a humble beginning, and
like the origins of nearly
all of its rivals in the
food industry, it is a
story founded on the dreams
of a determined individual.
ConAgra Foods sold its
first bag of flour in
1867, and in 1919, Alva
Kinney was instrumental
in four Nebraska flour
mills, combining their
resources to form Nebraska
Consolidated Mills (NCM).
NCM
became a recognized name
in the flour milling industry,
and in the 1950s, as a
way to increase sales
for its flour products,
created a buzz in the
consumer world with the
introduction of the Duncan
Hines cake mix, which
was later sold. By 1971,
NCM changed its name to
ConAgra, a Latin derivative
meaning "with"
and "land."
The company was now poised
to make a giant leap to
become one of the dominant
players in the food industry.
After
being acquired by ConAgra,
Peavey began consolidating
its Twin Ports grain shipping
operations. The first
big move came with the
purchase of the Connors
Point elevator from the
Chicago Northwestern Railroad.
The acquisition of the
Connors Point elevator
would put an end to the
reliance on the durable
old Globe elevator for
vessel loading. The Connors
Point elevator was built
in 1966 by the Chicago
& Northwestern Railroad
and had previously been
operated on a long-term
lease by Continental Grain.
The
8.3 million bushel Connors
Point elevator uses a
combination of concrete
silos, steel storage tanks
and flat storage for grain
storage and handling,
and it is active throughout
the shipping season, loading
both Great Lakes vessels
and deep-water ocean vessels.
It ships by shuttle trains
during the winter months.
In addition to the Connors
Point facility, ConAgra
Foods also operates Elevator
M, a 3.2-million-bushel
elevator used primarily
for loading grain into
railcars.
In
2000, ConAgra changed
its name to ConAgra Foods
to make clear the company's
focus on the food business.
Today, ConAgra Foods is
one of America's leading
packaged food companies,
focused on branded and
value-added food products.
Well-known ConAgra Foods
retail brands include
Butterball, Chef Boyardee,
Healthy Choice and Hunt's.
ConAgra Foods foodservice
products are found in
restaurants, hotels and
institutions around the
world. In the company's
ingredients business,
the grain that Peavey's
system provides is integral
to ConAgra Food Ingredients
in manufacturing its line
of specialty flours, which
are custom-made to CFI
and customer specifications.
While
the Peavey grain elevators
are a vital part of the
Twin Ports waterfront,
they are only a part of
the larger ConAgra Foods
network that employs approximately
40,000 people worldwide.
The next time you shop
at your local grocery
store or eat at your favorite
restaurant, the chances
are good that you'll come
in contact with a product
from ConAgra Foods. |
Peavey
Timeline
1887
Frank Peavey becomes member
of board of directors
of Duluth Elevator Co.
1894
Globe Elevator Company
formed. Operates the Globe
Elevator at Superior.
1896
Peavey purchases the Belt
Line Elevator Company
at Superior.
Opens Elevator M, Annex
N
1899
Peavey builds the first
concrete grain tank in
Minneapolis.
1900
Peavey-Duluth Terminal
constructed.
1900
Part 1 of concrete storage
annex constructed at Duluth.
1901
Part 2 of concrete storage
annex constructed at Duluth.
1906
Feb 6, 1906, Duluth wood
frame workhouse destroyed
by fire.
1907
New workhouse constructed
at Duluth, built of ceramic
tile.
1914
Peavey sells Elevator
M & N (Belt Line)
to Cargill.
1915
Globe Elevator now officially
called F. H. Peavey Co.
1930
F. H. Peavey expands Duluth
terminal with concrete
silos.
1935
Globe Elevator Company
dissolved.
1960
Peavey Company takes control
of Occident Elevator at
Duluth,
(Peavey purchased Russell-Miller
Milling in 1954).
1970
Peavey sells the Peavey-Duluth
Terminal and Occident
Elevator to Cargill.
1977
ConAgra purchases Elevator
M from McMillan, operated
by Burdick Grain.
1982
Operation of Elevator
M given to ConAgra's Peavey
Elevator Division.
1986
ConAgra purchases the
Continental Grain Elevator
from the C & NW.
1986
ConAgra Elevator M workhouse
destroyed by fire (October
27.)
1988
ConAgra closes the Globe
Elevator in Superior.
1994
ConAgra sells Globe Elevator
property to Jensen Construction
for demolition.
1999
Port Authority lets contract
for razing of Occident
and Peavey elevators.
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