Michigan Potash & Salt Co. in Evart, northwest of Mount Pleasant, has launched a new salt business, which will produce 1 million tons of food-quality salt. The company is strategically located within a high-demand area of the United States.
Salt is a natural co-product of the company’s potash crop nutrient business. The Michigan Salt facility will be the nation’s largest evaporative salt plant, and newest and lowest-cost salt producer, according to the company. It will produce premium food-grade, and low-sodium salt products.
The salt products are targeted for use in food additives and water conditioning, while also supporting infrastructure needs like winter road safety and industrial manufacturing.
“From reducing ice on our roadways to seasoning our foods, salt plays a critical role in enhancing public safety and improving our quality of life,” says Ted Pagano, founder and CEO of Michigan Potash. “The high-quality mineral from our new salt production facility will be an incredible option for residential, business, and government users to access food-grade salt, and deicing salt at affordable rates.”
The salt facility initially will produce 1 million tons of high-grade salt annually and includes a bagging facility; both which are expected to grow over time, Pagano says.
High-grade consumer salt prices have outpaced inflation for more than two decades as a result of limited supply choice, and aging facilities. The average age of existing evaporative salt plants in the United States is more than a century.
The U.S. is the world’s largest purchaser of salt, and according to the U.S. Geological Survey, it imports 25 percent of its salt needs, primarily from Canada and Chile.
Salt production at the Evart facility is expected to help meet the high demand for salt across the country and especially in the hard-water region of the Midwest, where this product will help homeowners and municipalities affordably soften their water.
“We are proud to be the only state-of-the-art, high-grade evaporative salt facility in the country that also produces critical potash fertilizer, allowing us to sustainably produce and distribute both nutrients in a cost-effective manner for the benefit of consumers,” Pagano says.
In January, the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Loan Programs Office (LPO) provided the company a conditional commitment for a loan of up to $1.26 billion for the development of the technologically advanced and energy efficient potash and salt production facility. Read the DBusiness story here.
