Albert Lea Seed is expanding at two locations with the acquisition of the former Fountain Industries building in the Jobs Industrial Park and the construction of a new seed cleaning plant at its main location.

The third-generation, family-owned farm seed company broke ground for the new plant in the spring that will house a semi-automated seed cleaning and packaging system.

Plans include a new covered receiving building where growers will drop off seed and a separate building for the seed cleaning, which will separate desired farm seed from damaged seeds, weed seeds and debris. The plant will be directly behind its organic seed warehouse at 1414 W. Main St.

“We are very excited to be building this modern facility in Albert Lea,” said co-owner Mac Ehrhardt in a news release. “Many people don’t realize that organic agriculture is a $50 billion/year industry in the U.S. and that there are hundreds of organic farms in Minnesota, Iowa and Wisconsin that get their farm seed from Albert Lea Seed.”

Mac Ehrhardt said the new facility will more than double the company’s capacity and allow it to provide customers with the highest quality seed.

According to the release, the new seed cleaning system will incorporate seven seed-cleaning machines. The flexible design allows for seed to be cleaned only through the necessary machines, bypassing unnecessary ones, improving output, reducing damage and saving energy.

The system will be able to sort by color and density, and a biological seed-coating applicator will add natural biological coatings to seeds. Lastly, a high-capacity robot will stack filled seed bags on pallets.

“Our customers are farmers whose livelihoods depend on planting seed of the highest quality,” said co-owner Tom Ehrhardt. “This project will help us manage increased seed volumes while actually improving seed quality.”

The company expects to hire three to four additional employees after the construction is completed, including a seed plant manager.

In addition to the construction, Mac Ehrhardt said the company closed on the former Fountain Industries property on 14th Street, which provides about 48,000 square feet of usable space, on Aug. 16. He said Albert Lea Seed had been renting offsite storage space at several locations around Albert Lea for several years, and this alleviates some of that need.

He said the building will be used for storing packaged seed initially, and over time additional services may be added. There’s a possibility the company will put in a biological seed coating plant there, primarily for the organic side of the business, he said, which would improve vigor and  yield of the seed.

One additional employee will be needed to staff that warehouse.