ADM's Northern Sun plant partially shuts down to deal with bin damage

ENDERLIN, N.D. — An oilseed processing plant in Enderlin has been at least partially shut down for a week after employees noticed a meal tank had shifted on its foundation.

The ADM Northern Sun plant, which crushes sunflowers, canola and soybeans into oil, has been partially shut down since June 17 while crews have assessed the problem and necessary repairs, said Jackie Anderson, a spokesperson for ADM.

Jonathan Anderson, chief for the Enderlin Rural Fire Protection District, confirmed that the department was put on notice of some kind of "breakdown" in a bin at ADM on June 17 but said that as of Monday, June 20, the alert was "called off," with the company indicating a return to normal operations.

Jackie Anderson said the tank has been temporarily stabilized, and ADM has an on-site team working on a plant to "permanently anchor the tank and then safely resume plant operations and oilseed deliveries."

"We are consulting with third-party structural engineers and have notified the local fire department to be on standby just in case there are any issues," she said.

Jackie Anderson said some operations have continued throughout the process, and the facility now is able to receive seed deliveries.

"The safety of our employees are our top priority throughout this process, and we appreciate everyone’s patience as we work to safely resume operations in the coming days," Anderson said on June 24. "We are hoping to resume full operations in the coming days."