Company Profile
West Side Salvage, Inc.

West Side Salvage, Inc. • 800-747-0104 http://westsidesalvage.com/

Five decades of grain salvage, cleanup, and handling services

History

Now in its sixth decade of operation, West Side Salvage, Inc. continues as a source for handling grain cleanup, salvage, and storage. The company emerged from a business started in 1968 by Dale Vogt, who spotted the growing need for grain salvage and cleanup services in the Atkins, IA area.

As the business grew, the company acquired and designed equipment to accommodate growing customer needs. In the 1970s, the founder’s sons became more involved in the operation. Son Don Vogt now serves as CEO and chairman of the board.

From a pickup truck salvaging small amounts of grain, the operations have grown into a multi-faceted corporation called West Side Unlimited Corporation (WSU).

West Side Salvage is one of several WSU subsidiaries. Other subsidiaries are West Side Transport, Inc. and West Side Grain Sales, Inc. West Side Transport has grown from one truck to almost 500 trucks and more than 1,260 trailers. Multiple grain elevators are owned by West Side Grain Sales, Inc. throughout eastern Iowa.

Gene Schwers joined the company in 1980 and is president of West Side Salvage. He says the three divisions often work together to handle larger jobs. “In the early years, the company handled jobs within a 25-mile radius of Atkins,” says Schwers. “The operations have grown primarily due to an increase in the territory we cover.”

West Side Salvage has 24 employees and 200 years of combined experience. Companywide, more than 700 employees are part of the WSU team. “With the changes often seen in the trucking industry, overall employee numbers easily change,” says Schwers. “About 90% of our work involves agriculture, mainly grains, grain by-products, and fertilizers. About 50% involves handling situations that involve fire, flooding, grain bin collapses, and explosions.”

Philosophy

With a safety-first approach, West Side Salvage assures that its employees are trained to handle fire and other hazards. Special training prepares workers for virtually any situation. Workers often are confined to small places. They are instructed and certified to use the latest technology in air quality testing and monitoring, as well as rescue and retrieval methods and equipment.

“Response in service is the key to our business,” notes Schwers. “Along with operating with safety in mind, we can respond and service our customers in a fast, timely manner. We can move quickly. If needed, we can shift gears and change operations on short notice.”

The swift response is done with strict observance of the U.S. Department of Transportation regulations for moving equipment and truck driver hours-of-service limits. West Side Salvage and WSU subsidiaries maintain tight records to support its equipment and grain moving operations.

Products

The first jobs completed by West Side Salvage involved cleanup of railcar grain spills with a grain scoop, bushel baskets, and a pickup truck. Those services have evolved into small and large salvage and cleanup, stretching across the Midwest and even internationally.

Whether the customer is a major grain terminal complex on the Mississippi River, a country elevator in the Corn Belt, or an ocean-going barge transport, the company fulfills a vast number of customer requests. It specializes in the recovery of grain, feed, food products, and fertilizers, as well as chemicals from virtually any situation.

According to Schwers, services include: emergency grain removal from elevator fires, bulk unloading of grain bins or flat storage, bin and tank cleaning, commodity separations, merchandising and buying salvaged commodities, industrial vacuums for dust-free cleaning, and wet/dry vacuums for out-of-condition, moldy, or wet grain.

“We have handled grain situations that have involved single railcar on-site transfers, a 30-car general freight derailment, and 40,000-bushel bin cleaning,” says Schwers.

The company handles multi-million-bushel storage disasters and full discharge of ocean-going vessels.

“Part of our salvage involves unloading ships overseas,” he adds. “In the ‘80s and ‘90s, many were outside the United States. Once, in Pakistan, we unloaded a 200,000-metric-ton ship. It was likely the largest ship ever to ship grain out of the United States.”

Thanks to the company’s growing commitment to the best equipment, extensive employee training, and attention to safety, West Side Salvage has earned a reputation as being one of the largest, most diversified, and well-equipped salvage companies in the United States.

Larry Stalcup, contributing writer

— September/October 2020 Grain Journal

Featured Services

  • River Valley Cleanup
  • Img950886 002
  • Key Coop Cleanup

Timeline

  • 1968
    West Side Salvage was born in Atkins, IA when Dale Vogt saw the opportunity to provide grain salvage and cleanup services for Iowa and much of the Corn Belt.
  • 1970
    Dale Vogt and his sons share more of the responsibilities in running the company.
  • 1980
    The company expands into handling more overseas grain
  • 1990
    product salvage and cleanup operations, including mega-ship unloading.
  • 2000
    Company expansion enables it to handle more damaged grain and other commodities during natural disasters like Hurricane Ike, Hurricane Katrina, and massive flooding in eastern Iowa.

About West Side Salvage, Inc.

Atkins, IA
800-747-0104
319-446-7600
http://westsidesalvage.com/

View Company Profile →

In This Issue

Grain Journal September October 2020

View this company profile and more in the Grain Journal September October 2020 magazine.