By JO ANN HUSTIS

GREENSBURG, Ind. — The largest grain bin at Obermeyer Agri Group, Inc. can store about 1.4 million bushels of corn or soybeans. “Big Bin,” company spokesman Nick Obermeyer calls it, in wordplay on the iconic Big Ben clock tower in London.

“There are not a lot of them around, though,” he noted of the gigantic bins. “But, there’s a lot of use for grain bins – a whole lot. There is a lot of corn that was grown this year, a whole lot, and a lot of farmers are having problems finding storage for the grain. They don’t have enough storage facilities. We hope they do come to us.”

Obermeyer Agri is a contracting company which sells, assembles and reconditions grain bins within about an 80-mile radius of its headquarters in Greensburg. The company prides itself as the resource for farm and commercial grain storage, handling, drying and conditioning equipment.

“We deal in anything grain-related. Anything that involves the conditions of loose grain, we’re involved with. We believe in quality products and superior workmanship, and are committed to serving customer needs,” Obermeyer said.

“The real strength of our business is our people, from the owners to our field personnel, to provide our customers with grain storage, grain handling, grain drying and custom equipment of the best quality and workmanship. We will provide a product that is designed to fit our customer’s needs, while delivering the product in a timely and efficient manner.”

Grain bins are used for storage of harvested grain prior to it being sold and transported to market. In earlier days, many grain bins were built of wood, making them more susceptible to fire. Today’s grain bins, grain elevators and tanks are constructed of steel, making them less likely to burn.

Grain bins are built in sections and assembled on-site.  A work crew of 5-15 take 1-2 weeks to construct a grain bin on location.

Although the area in the Obermeyer Agri location is predominately farm ground, the company owners are not farmers. “We don’t farm, we just work in it,” Obermeyer said. “Dad grew up on a farm and got into this business that way. He had a pretty good idea in starting the company.”

The company believes in quality products and superior workmanship, and is committed to serving customer needs, he added. The company also maintains a large inventory of equipment and parts for the equipment it sells.

“Not only do we keep a supply of equipment and parts at our warehouse, we also keep our service trucks well-stocked,” he noted. “This enables our service people to do maintenance or repair your equipment while they are on-site.

“In addition, our staff will assist you if you choose to pick up the parts (at Obermeyer Agri) and do your own maintenance or repairs.”

William Obermeyer started the grain bin construction company with a few employees in 1983. Thirty-one years later, Obermeyer Agri has grown to the point of 35 full-time and several temporary employees. The company covers an approximately 80-mile working area and performs a great deal of fabrications (inventing and manufacturing) on its own, as well.

“We don’t do anything with actual implements like tractors and combines. We don’t do anything with that. We do the concrete work on (grain dryers), build the dryer and frame it in, and do custom work as well,” Nick Obermeyer explained.

 Looking ahead to 2015, he said the coming year appears to be good for the company. “There are still a lot of projects and a lot of recondition projects to be done,” he said.

“We need to go in and do a lot of repair work. This includes things like replacing a dryer or replacing augers on a dryer. Sometimes it’s to lower the floors on a grain bin and sometimes to raise them.”

Obermeyer Agri Group can be contacted at 812-663-4020, 812-593-0295 or 800-241-4020. The address is 4814 W. Old US Hwy 46, Greensburg, IN 47240.