Our Economy Barging Through History (NAPSA)—Although barges have been around at least since ancient Egypt, the innovations one 150-year-old company made to them in the 1930s has given a big boost to commerce in the U.S. today. Here’s a look at then and now. Then: In the late 1930s, Cargill’s trade business had expanded significantly as it made frequent use of inland waterways for shipping. To its former president John MacMillan, Jr., however, the towboat-and-wooden- barge combination was slow, cumbersome and poorly designed to carry the maximum amount of grain. MacMillan’s idea was to create a single, integrated vehicle, cast One company handles many of the country’s agriculture products and transports them mostly on barges like this one thatit invented in the 1930s. in steel, which was wider butstill able to pass between locks. When no builder was interested, his company entered the shipbuilding business. The new “Carneida” barge was a game changer for commodity shipping, able to more gracefully pilot waterways and efficiently move larger volumesof crops from inland farmsto their global destinations. Likewise, Cargill’s search for materials to “back haul” so barges would not be empty on return trips was key to starting what is today one of its businesses: salt and deicing. In 1955, the firm filled up a barge with Louisiana rock salt, which Northern states used to deice roads. Today, Cargill produces, packages and shipssalt for use in table salt, animal nutrition supplements, water softener, deicing road salt and other products. Now:Today, while trucks and trains transport many of the company’s commodities, barge move- ments remain a cost-effective, safe and environmentally friendly way to get products such asfertilizer and scrap metals to market. Learn More For a look at other innovations over the last 150 years, see www.cargill.com/150/en.
