Fire destroys Hanska building

Soybean, sunflower oil fuels flames at processing plant

BY SARA SYVERSON

Journal Staff Writer

HANSKA -- Billows of black smoke were visible from four miles away as a massive fire destroyed the Access Marketing soybean processing plant in Hanska Sunday evening.

The fire was reported about 6:25 p.m. Sunday evening by a Waconia man who smelled smoke as he walked nearby. The Hanska Fire Department responded within minutes, but the fire inside the building was too far along for firefighters to do much to contain the fire. The building was completely destroyed.

Black smoke filled the air from the fire which was fueled by several large oilseed drums containing thousands of gallons of organic sunflower oil or organic soybean oil. Lloyd Trullinger, manager of the plant, said he didn't know exactly how much oil was on hand.

Two other fire departments responded to assist the Hanska Fire Department. The Madelia and New Ulm fire departments sent tanker trucks to help provide water for the firefighters. The plant is located on the east edge of town near the Hanska Co-op, with no fire hydrants nearby.

The cause of the blaze is unknown but Hanska Fire Chief Cory Fischer said the fire started in the east side of the building. No injuries resulted from the fire. The building was unoccupied since Friday.

The building is owned by Chuck Larson of Hanska, who also owned much of the equipment inside. Access Marketing, a Stillwater-based firm, leases the building from Larson and owned some of the equipment, said Trullinger. In addition to producing sunflower and soybean oils, the company exports edible soybeans and sunflower to Japan, and ships soybean meal around the country to dairy farms, where it is used as feed.

There was no estimate Sunday night of the value of the building and its contents.