Bessemer (Pty) LTD was established in 1952, primarily to serve the agricultural industry. Since then it has become the leader in design, manufacture and the erection of steel silos for the storage of bulk grain, making the handling thereof more economical and easier. Bessemer reached agreement with Trico Industries Incorporated of Kansas City, Missouri, U.S.A., in 1967 for the licensed construction of steel silos in South Africa.

The American concern had 80 years experience in the development of galvanised steel silos, and Bessemer could thus fully utilize this wealth of knowledge in producing a South African product of the same high standard. These steel silos are prefabricated in the workshops and erected on site.

Bessemer has already achieved great success with these steel silos in South Africa and overseas due to the greater economy of the steel constructions compared with cement silos. The double galvanizing is of a particularly high standard to ensure an extremely long life.

Bessemer also has an extensive technical division offering all the necessary know-how and expertise to guarantee work of the most exacting standards. All the complexes are designed and manufactured by skilled technicians in Bessemer's own factory.

Only the finest steel, bearing the approval of the South African Bureau of Standards and meeting the Bureau's exacting demands, is used. Use is also frequently made of the testing facilities at the South African Council for Scientific and Industrial Research offices to ensure advanced designs for the manufacture of advanced silos.

Bessemer was responsible for the design and erection of the world's biggest steel silos. Galvanized silos with a 38m diameter and a height of 25.5m have already been erected by Bessemer as well as 30m diameter by 25.5m high.

A Bessemer silo is watertight safeguards contents from rodents. Of great importance is the fact that the storage costs per metric tone offered by these silos represent the lowest possible cost structure. They can be speedily erected and eliminate the use of heavy and expensive conventional foundations. Since they are made of steel, they offer versatility in design, allowing easy changes or extensions to the silo complex … at the lowest cost. This feature also makes for easy dismantling and re-erection on another site.

The elimination of bags and the low maintenance costs of the silos also make them an exceptionally economical proposition for the grain farmer. Extensions are often nessasary when an excess of a particular type of grain is delivered at a silo. But because the existing silo makes provision for the necessary division of compartments, the largest bin possible is required to store any one type of grain in bulk.

In such cases Bessemer can provide the ideal bin which can easily be adapted to any extension up to a capacity of 12.735 metric tone per unit.