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Ozinga has opened a low-carbon slag-cement mill in East Chicago, Indiana, while CHS is developing a large soybean-processing plant in Evansville, Wisconsin. The projects serve different commodities and have different timelines, but both are designed around rail connections supplemented by water and highway freight.
Ozinga’s mill is already operating with Indiana Harbor Belt (IHB) service. CHS’s facility, which still requires permitting, is planned for Union Pacific (UP) service and is targeted for completion in 2028.
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Two rail-served projects at a glance
| Project | Location and status | Rail connection | Other transport modes | Stated strategic purpose |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ozinga slag-cement mill | East Chicago, Indiana; opened October 13, 2026 | Indiana Harbor Belt, with connections to all Class I railroads | Great Lakes and inland waterways, plus highway | Expand domestic, lower-carbon construction-material production |
| CHS soybean-processing facility | Evansville, Wisconsin; planned, subject to permitting | Union Pacific, through an in-plant loop-track design | River, road and rail | Create another soybean market and strengthen domestic food, feed and renewable-fuel supply chains |
Railway Age reported both developments on October 14, 2026. They illustrate two ways industrial companies are using rail: moving heavy finished materials efficiently from a manufacturing site, and assembling a high-volume inbound and outbound network for agricultural commodities.
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Ozinga’s East Chicago slag-cement mill
Production and cement standards
The East Chicago mill is designed to produce 1 million tons of slag cement annually. Its product line includes slag cement compliant with ASTM C989 and proprietary CarbonSense blends that meet the performance requirements of ASTM C1157.
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Ozinga says the CarbonSense blends can reduce embodied carbon by up to 80% compared with traditional Portland-cement mixes. The exact reduction depends on the mix and application; the company presents the figure as a maximum rather than a result that applies to every shipment.
Rail, barge and highway distribution
The facility has onsite rail infrastructure and is served by IHB. Because IHB’s network connects with every Class I railroad, Ozinga can hand off traffic to a broad national rail system rather than relying on a single line. Great Lakes and inland-waterway access adds a second heavy-haul option, while trucks provide local and shorter-distance delivery.
Ozinga says one railcar carries more material than four semi-trucks. Its comparison for water transport is larger still: one barge carries the equivalent of 17 railcars, or 75 semi-trucks. Those ratios explain why a cement producer would combine rail and water for long-haul movements and reserve trucks for distribution that requires door-to-door flexibility.
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Emissions and employment targets
Once fully operational, Ozinga projects that the mill will offset more than 700,000 metric tons of carbon-dioxide emissions each year. The company compares that amount with removing more than 150,000 gasoline-powered passenger vehicles from the road for one year; that is an equivalence calculation, not a direct measurement of vehicle traffic displaced by the plant.
Ozinga expects approximately 50 permanent union steelworker jobs across the East Chicago mill and its Burns Harbor operation, where slag is initially processed. The company, established in 1928 in Evergreen Park, Illinois, describes its wider business as providing concrete, bulk materials and energy solutions supported by truck, rail, barge and ship terminals.
CHS’s Evansville soybean-processing facility
Scale, products and schedule
CHS held a ceremonial groundbreaking on October 7, 2026, for the Evansville project. The estimated cost is approximately $700 million, and CHS expects completion in 2028 after required permits are obtained.
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CHS says the plant would process 80 million bushels of soybeans annually. At that planned scale, the facility is expected to produce approximately 1 billion pounds of soybean oil and 2 million tons of soybean meal each year. The oil can serve food and industrial markets, while meal is a major feed ingredient; the project is framed by CHS as part of domestic agricultural and renewable-fuel supply chains.
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The design includes an in-plant loop track with three separate loops connecting to UP. This arrangement is intended to let rail movements circulate through the facility instead of treating the plant as a simple end-of-line siding.
Truck interfaces are specified as well: the plans call for 40 soybean truck dumps per hour and 17 meal trucks per hour for load-out. Combining those truck positions with rail and river access is meant to keep the plant from depending on one transportation mode when harvest volumes, river conditions or railroad availability change.
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Jobs and farmer-market rationale
CHS expects the completed facility to support about 80 full-time jobs. Construction and development are expected to generate hundreds of additional construction and skilled-trade positions, although those roles will be temporary or project-based rather than part of the plant’s permanent headcount.
CHS President and CEO Jay Debertin said the investment will give farmers another reliable market for soybeans while supporting demand for U.S.-produced agricultural products. The company’s rationale is therefore different from Ozinga’s carbon-focused construction-material story: CHS emphasizes local origination, processing capacity and dependable outlets for farm production.
How the rail strategies differ
Finished-material distribution versus commodity origination
Ozinga starts with a processed construction input and needs to deliver a dense, heavy product to customers around the Great Lakes and inland markets. Its combination of onsite rail, water terminals and highways is optimized for moving large tonnages after production.
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- Powerful 450W Copper Motor: Equipped with a durable 750W (1 HP) copper motor, this concrete mixer delivers strong performance and operates at an efficient 30 RPM for fast, reliable mixing every time.
- 360° Mixing & Easy Tilting: Featuring a spring-assisted tilting wheel, this cement mixer allows smooth 360° rotation and easy dumping. Designed for even mixing, quick cleanup, and user-friendly operation.
- Portable & Stable Design: Built with two large 7" x 2" solid wheels and a convenient handle for easy mobility. Its triangular base ensures steady standing and secure operation on any job site.
- Heavy-Duty & Rust-Resistant Build: Constructed from rugged steel with a corrosion-resistant powder-coated finish, plus a cast-iron toothed ring for enhanced durability and long-lasting performance.
- Large 5.3 Cu.Ft (140L) Capacity & Versatile Use: Ideal for mixing mortar, concrete, stucco, and more. Perfect for construction, farm work, landscaping, and other DIY or professional applications.
CHS starts with soybeans arriving from farms and converts them into oil and meal that must move to separate customers. Its loop tracks and high-throughput truck equipment are designed around continuous plant feeding and multiple outbound products, with UP, river and road service providing alternatives.
CHS’s broader multimodal model
CHS’s supply-chain announcement points to its Cahokia, Illinois, grain facility as another example of the company’s rail strategy. That separate site has more than seven miles of private rail track, direct connections to all six North American Class I railroads and capacity to handle four 110-car trains simultaneously. Those Cahokia specifications provide context for CHS’s preference for substantial private rail infrastructure; they are not stated specifications for the planned Evansville plant.
What happens next
- Ozinga: The East Chicago mill has opened, with production and the projected emissions and employment benefits dependent on reaching full operation.
- CHS: The Evansville plant remains in development. Permitting is the prerequisite to the company’s 2028 completion target.
- For regional freight: Both projects add industrial demand for rail while preserving water and highway options, a design that can reduce exposure to disruption on any one mode.
Together, the announcements show rail serving two distinct Midwest growth cases: lower-carbon cementitious materials for infrastructure and large-scale soybean processing for agricultural and domestic supply chains.
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