"The bin will hold 2.25 million bushels, and will include 30 rings with a peak height of 155 feet and 7 inches. The bin diameter is 165 feet","the Sukup says.

It is the largest free span grain bin in the world. The previous record holder, also designed and manufactured by Sukup, had a diameter of 156 feet.

"The new bin would beat the two, 2-million bushel Sukup bins built in Atlantic for the Elite Octane LLC Ethanol plant, which went into operation in July, 2018," the Radio Iowa says.

The two Sukup corn storage bins in Atlantic are each 156 feet in diameter and 150-feet tall. They hold 2,000,000 bushels each, for a total corn storage capacity of 4,000,000 bushels. They are capable of encasing a Boeing 757 jet.

"Sukup president and CEO Steve Sukup says the 165-foot diameter bin in Sheffield will be large enough to hold a Boeing 767 jet."

"Sukup Manufacturing Co. has announced it’s topped its own record. The company has designed and manufactured the world’s largest free span grain bin—165’ in diameter. The previous record-holding bin (also a Sukup) was 156’ in diameter. 

"The 165’ diameter bin will have a capacity up to 2.2 million bu., and is located at Golden Grain Energy, an ethanol plant in Mason City, Iowa. The official groundbreaking for the new bin was September 14, 2020, and its completion date is projection as early as May 2021. When completed, the bin will have 30 rings and a peak height of 55’7”. 

"Buresh Building Systems, Inc., is the Sukup dealer involved in the project, and McGough Construction of St. Paul, Minn., is the construction company," The Daily Scoop says.

"Sukup had the record for the two largest grain bins in the world: Atlantic and Waller. But the plan for Golden Grain was to create one even bigger," the We Are Iowa says.

"When we were putting this project together, we kind of jokingly looked over at [Steve Sukup] thinking that we were going to get the two-million bushel bin as well," Golden Grain Energy CEO Chad Kuhlers said. "And Steve said 'I think I can build you a bigger one' so we said 'Well, this sounds great. If we are going to do this, let's go all out and make sure the largest grain bin sits in Mason City, Iowa.'

"It takes more than 2,000 trucks to fill the bin. 90 hours of receiving and distributing. "This allows us to basically have one month with everything completely filled to completely empty on the amount of corn that's going to be on-site," Kuhlers said.

"Mason City will soon have a new point of pride to challenge the "Music Man": the world's largest grain bin. The bin is under construction at Golden Grain Energy in Mason City, and will stand nearly 156 feet tall," The Des Moines Register says.

"But what's really remarkable is its volume: It's capable of holding 2.2 million bushels of corn, according to Sukup Manufacturing Co., the Sheffield company manufacturing the massive, metal structure.

"Sukup says it's checked with competitors and no one else has built a free-span grain bin this large: 165 feet in diameter and standing 155 feet, 7 inches at its peak. The bin will have enough room to park a 767 Boeing jet inside, Sukup said."

"To stand up to the internal pressure generated by that much grain, the sidewalls required multiple laminations most of the way up the eave height of the tank," the Grainnet.com says.

"Instead of more conventional overlapping sidewall panels, Sukup utilized its patented laminated splice plates at the vertical seams. Sukup also used its patented double-ended stud bolts between the laminated sidewall panels and the stiffeners. This fastener has two threaded ends, a rubber-backed sealing washer, and a hex feature in the center of the threaded ends. This prevents water from seeping between the stiffener and the sidewall and infiltrating into the grain.

"Engineers also beefed up the roof structure of the 2.2-million-bushel tank to handle up to a 150,000-pound load for fill equipment based on a 40-psf ground snow zone.To support the weight of the 125-million-pound fully-loaded tank, Buresh used engineered fill material to be placed underneath the tank. This holds settlement of the tank to less than an inch, unlike more conventional packed dirt or gravel."

"Golden Grain is a privately-held company that turns corn into ethanol. Its facility produces about 120 million gallons of ethanol annually and it's owned by 900 members - the majority of the owners are farmers," the Only In Your State says.

"The company employees more than 50 people and it uses - and stores - a lot of corn. It purchases 42 million bushels of corn annually from producers and dealers.

"When the bin is complete, it will take equipment 88 hours to fill the structure with corn, if the machines are running at full speed. Including the capacity of the plant's existing smaller bins, the company will be able to store a month's worth of corn."

Photos: World’s Largest Free Span Grain Bin: world record in Mason City, Iowa
(1-2) Sukup.com

(3) Facebook/Sukup Manufacturing Co.