Briney Brothers LLC employees are shown standing in front of a Sukup 75’ diameter by 17 rings tall bin at Rickett Grain in Manito.
Willie Bowman is shown fabricating 10-foot ladder sections for inventory. The ladders are installed on a variety of things for access to structures and equipment.
Bin 75' diameter under construction at Rickett Grain in Manito.
This photo shows a leg and tower installation at Rickett Grain in Manito. |
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Pictured front row, left to right: Matt Briney, Lorrie Park, Mike Briney, Barry Beck, Melvin Briney. Back row: Kathleen Behymer, Steve Butler, Willie Bowman, Joe Skiles, Mark Danner, Leslie Webb, Bob Bridges.
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| Mike Briney fabricates another set of concrete forms to be used for pouring grain bin foundations. The company has several sets so they can pour in multiple locations. |
On July 13, 1999, Matt and Melvin Briney formed Briney Brothers LLC. With a few basic tools, two pick-up trucks and $6,000 each, the brothers’ goal was to become commercial millwright contractors specializing in the grain-handling industry. They had helped to build their own farm grain facilities at Sheldons Grove, and soon realized they enjoyed this type of work, but lacked a couple of key things — customers and prospects.
Quickly, though, the business took off and they provided (and still provide) farmers and commercial businesses with design, sales, construction and service of grain systems. The company’s service territory is an area approximately 90 miles in radius from Astoria.
Briney Brothers LLC’s typical farm customers raise 1,000 to 10,000 acres of crops and have outgrown their current capacity to process the volumes harvested with today’s high capacity machinery. The commercial customers are typically country elevators and river terminals, with needs substantially the same as farmers, only at much higher capacity and volume.
The brothers are proud to call Astoria their “headquarters”. In 2005, they purchased the old Fibra Steel plant and have made this location their base of operations. The facility is 95 percent utilized. They consider the location “a real blessing”, and are anxious to make improvements to the frontage of the building to convert at least a portion of it to badly needed office space. Currently, they employ five full time people from Astoria and the surrounding area; and an additional four to eight part time people during peak construction season from April through November.
They have made it a foundational principle to operate their business by supporting other local businesses to the extent possible, with a desire to see the Astoria community grow and thrive. |
