Rebecca Long Pyper
Marketing Director
Dome Technology
Dome storage solutions offer grain companies increased capacity, efficiency, and cost savings by utilizing innovative designs and advanced automation. As more companies move away from traditional silos, they are reaping the benefits of customized domes that enhance throughput and blending capabilities.
Selecting a new grain-storage solution is a big decision, and with it comes the opportunity for big company growth.
Bulk-storage domes boast key benefits that can potentially boost a company’s bottom line. Today, more grain companies are bypassing traditional storage models, like silos, for a chance to experience the dome difference.

PROJECT SUMMARY: CYCLING PRODUCT IS NOW AN OPTION IN SHELBURN, INDIANA, USA
In August 2021 agricultural-commodities leader Gavilon completed its first season with a new DomeSilo capable of storing 1.37 million bushels in Shelburn, Indiana, USA. Viterra has since acquired the facility.

The DomeSilo replaced use of ground piles, allowing the company to reduce labor demands, maximize mix and blend opportunities, and better protect product. Soybeans were stored in the DomeSilo for 11 months, during which the interior temperature was well managed; in July, for example, product temps in the bottom quarter of the dome were 35 to 40 degrees Fahrenheit.
The dome also made it possible for Gavilon to cycle product, greatly increasing soybean throughput. “Previously we had a ground pile for beans, and once it was full, that was it, with some exceptions. But the dome allowed us to fill and reclaim as needed and take advantage of the changing markets and prices without the labor and time involved with a pile,” said Gavilon Director, Operations Tom Lechtenberg at that time.
The 170 X 110-foot dome was designed with a no-entry BinGator system. AIRLANCO provided the aeration system that includes six bay fans and 10 exhaust roof fans.
The DomeSilo was built at an existing company site, and “it allows Gavilon to blend out of this structure and load to rail directly. It will give them the capability to cycle that multiple times,” said sales manager Heath Harrison, adding that the biggest advantage to the upgraded facility will be the no-entry feature. “Now it’s going to be more efficient—less manpower needed.”

During the first season, manpower reduction was significant. “Overall, the labor for the day-to-day operations of the dome were much less than a pile. Having everything automated allowed us to keep a visual on everything without taking a guy out of another position just to go watch the pile,” Lechtenberg said, adding that during reclaim operations and train loading, a single employee was able to have full control of his feed compared to the previous model that required two or three employees on the pile pulling tarp, loading trucks, moving aerations tubes, communicating on radio, and adjusting flow rates.
THE DOME’S STRENGTH LIES IN ITS GEOMETRY
The dome is nature’s perfectly strong shape, and capitalizing on its geometry yields an unusually strong manmade structure. Once the foundation system is established, a ring beam is constructed at ground level to form the foundation for the dome. Tunnels too are formed as needed for the material-handling processes.
The PVC airform, custom sized based on the customers’ specifications, is bolted to the ring beam and inflated, forming the exterior dome shape; the fabric will remain in place indefinitely as it becomes the outer waterproofing membrane.
With the airform inflated, polyurethane foam insulation is applied to the inside. Premat steel is installed to create a grid across the entire dome surface. This premat reinforcing is embedded in the cover concrete and provides initial strength to the structure and a substrate to attach the structural reinforcing steel. Concrete is placed using the shotcrete method.
To meet the United States’ need for safety shelters, Dome Technology has constructed multiple emergency shelters, which must meet stringent Federal Emergency Management Agency requirements, including the ability to withstand projectiles and their impact force. All Dome Technology’s domes, commercial or industrial, resist high impact loads without requiring interior beams. In addition, domes can resist high external loads like wind from a natural disaster.
THE DOME DIFFERENCE
Domes and silos share some storage qualities, but here are three ways a dome is distinguished from a silo:
1. Large capacity
Oftentimes those who buy land on a port get less property for their money, requiring decisions on how to achieve the necessary storage on a smaller parcel of land.
Because of its height, a dome allows companies to stack product deeper, taking up less property at the site. The double curvature of a dome lends itself to the ability to build up, rather than out, and that curve provides strength at all points of the structure, even near the apex. The entire interior of a dome, then, can be used to contain product.
A large span on a silo can be very expensive because it is generally built with a beam or truss system. Similarly, a flat storage roof is constructed of a beam or truss system that does not resist large loads as efficiently as a dome.
2. Increased throughput
The dome tolerates frequent loading and unloading, outperforming steel structures over time. The dome’s tolerance for cyclic throughput is high because of its structural integrity. Filling and emptying will stress any structure, but a dome’s rebar accepts the load without fatigue problems; the stress is not channeled to weak spots like bolts or seams because there aren’t any. The robust nature of a dome doesn’t require regular maintenance, and the concrete shell’s lifespan is indefinite.
3. Increased mix and blend
For processors, shuttle loaders and exporters, blending is essential. The strength of the dome makes blending or mixing and blending possible. A dome is cost competitive with silos when providing the ability to pull from multiple gates, an option limited with steel tanks.
“Domes allow you to maximize blending capability, giving companies the opportunity to maximize profits and efficiencies,” Harrison said. “The grain industry operates on tight margins, so sometimes throughput and mix and blend are all we have to increase the bottom line. Domes and DomeSilos will maximize that bottom line.”

In addition to these benefits, recent construction advances are yielding better results for grain companies. For instance, Dome Technology has pioneered round explosion panels that channel pressure out of the structure, preventing structural damage in the event of an explosion.
Companies eager to secure no-entry options can explore different reclaim systems that make this possible; Dome Technology’s in-house engineers work closely with customers to determine reclaim that delivers necessary throughput and keeps employees safe.
Lastly, for companies moving product from barge to storage to truck in a relatively short timeframe, the Drive-Thru DomeSilo might be the answer. Dome Technology has pioneered the Drive-Thru DomeSilo, a tall, skinny dome with drive-through capability that stores more product on a smaller footprint than a silo of comparable dimensions and allows for direct load-out.
The Drive-Thru DomeSilo incorporates all structural, mechanical, electrical and control systems to provide a complete turnkey solution from receiving to vessel loading. “Companies can save on building a single drive-through storage facility by eliminating the need for multiple mechanical systems, operators and structures,” Dome Technology sales manager Lane Roberts said, noting that the Drive-Thru DomeSilo complete package is less expensive to build than a silo-centric system of similar capacity.
The model debuted in the cement industry in the summer of 2018 but is now available for grain companies too.
CUSTOMIZATION COMES STANDARD
Working with a design-build dome team means companies can expect precisely the kind of dome needed for their site and operational goals. This includes capacity requests and site space but extends to reclaim too. Customers choose the reclaim systems that work for them and rely on automation to run their facility for less. When a dome is designed with operations in mind, expenses drop.
THE LAST WORD ON COST SAVINGS
For customers planning to store more than 10,000 tons, domes beat silos budget- and space-wise. Cost savings result from domes being built with locally available concrete and rebar, reducing transportation costs for materials. The dome’s double curvature requires fewer construction materials, and there’s significantly less waste with a model that utilizes shotcrete, sprayed-on insulation, and an airform that remains in place indefinitely. Also, construction crews for Dome Technology projects are assembled by hiring as much local help as possible. These qualities yield cost savings for customers and benefit communities and companies alike.
“Dome Technology is equipped to provide the full package for customers from concept to completion, which is demonstrated in our project portfolio,” Dome Technology CEO Bradley Bateman said.