UNION MILLS, Ind. — Rebuilding a facility where some northwestern Indiana farmers sell grain that is stored and shipped to markets is nearing completion, more than a year after a grain dust explosion in one of the silos killed a worker.

The facility, containing more than 20 grain bins at Union Mills, is owned by Co-Alliance, the largest farm co-op in Indiana, said Keryn Stoelting, a spokesman for the company, which has a smaller number of co-ops in southern Michigan and Ohio.

An inspection based on concerns about the structural integrity being compromised from the blast that shook homes several blocks away found the facility suitable for rebuilding. Co-Alliance could have decided to build a new facility elsewhere but rebuilding here was viewed as a priority, given the importance such operations have in small farming communities like Union Mills, a village of just a few thousand people about 20 miles south of Lake Michigan.

"One of our missions is to be as involved in the community as we can be," said Stoelting.

The explosion in June 2013 claimed the life of 67-year-old James Swank, a co-op employee who, from the impact of the blast, fell off a silo work platform more than 100 feet off the ground. According to investigators, the explosion happened when a steel shaft on a pulley operating a conveyor came loose.

The heavy steel pulley slid into a concrete wall and because the conveyor kept operating, the pulley continued to rotate. Friction from the pulley rubbing against the concrete wall generated enough heat to ignite grain dust in the elevator, resulting in an explosion.

The reconstruction of the facility, which has been in Union Mills for decades, was unveiled in April and is scheduled to be completed in October. Work includes installing concrete liners in the four damaged silos, repairing the exterior walls of the silo, building a 730,000-bushel bin and tunnel conveyors so grain bins on the west side of the property can be unloaded without having to go through the concrete house, according to company officials.

Upgrades were also done on the rail load-out leg and a new 25,000-bushel bin leg and pit on the north side of the concrete house was added. "These changes will allow us to increase speed of dumping and bin capacity while using the house less than we have in the past," said Co-Alliance CEO Kevin Still.

Gene Matzat, an educator with the Purdue University extension office in La Porte, said the Union Mills facility is used primarily by farmers in southern LaPorte County. He explained grain storage facilities in rural communities are especially popular among smaller-scale farmers, to avoid the expense and traffic of hauling product longer distances for sale at larger storage outlets in Burns Harbor and Hammond.

He said the Union Mills facility used by generations of farmers in southern LaPorte County plays a key role in the rural economy. "To me it seems like it would be pretty important to stay there," said Matzat, who named other nearby Co-Alliance locations include Rolling Prairie, Malden and Buchanan, Mich.

He said much of the infrastructure, including rail lines used to ship product out on trains, was still intact after the blast and from a cost standpoint might have carried some influence in the decision to rebuild in Union Mills.

Co-Alliance delivers agronomy, seed, animal health, nutrition, grain marketing services, power fuel and home heating products at branch outlets in Indiana, Ohio and Michigan, according to company officials. Stoelting said Co-Alliance, with five partnerships in the state, is ranked in the top 20 for revenue among independently owned companies in Indiana.