MAUMEE, OHIO — The Andersons, Inc., has signed a long-term lease agreement for its operations at Port Houston, Texas, with facility expansion plans to support customer exports of soybean meal, among other bulk grains, to high-demand markets.

The upgrades will focus on increased reliability and efficiency and include providing rail-based soybean meal unload access directly at the export point, the company said in its Oct. 24 announcement of the lease agreement.

Noting Port Houston’s strategic location on the Gulf of Mexico, Bill Krueger, president and chief executive officer of The Andersons, said the company was pleased to sign the long-term deal.

“As domestic soybean crush rises to meet the higher demand for renewable fuels, we are seeing new opportunities for the export of soybean meal, and we are working closely with our railroad partners to streamline delivery of product to the export point by installing capability to unload unit trains of soybean meal directly at the Texas Gulf,” Krueger said.

With storage capacity of 6.3 million bus, the Houston facility supports the export of more than two million tonnes of grain annually and will now include up to 22,000 tonnes for storing soybean meal for export.

Additional upgrades include a new conveyance system to transport goods from storage to the ship loaders, as well as a new ship loading tower to increase the efficiency and speed of loading.

Tom Heidt, chief operating officer of Port Houston, said the agreement with The Andersons is a significant step in the port’s efforts to drive regional maritime economic growth.