The 75-year-old elevator received its first ship-delivered load of grain in over a decade, marking a key milestone in its rebirth. The elevator, which is owned by Minnesota-based Whitebox Commodities, had sat quiet and deteriorating until 2006, when it was acquired by River- Wright Energy, a local company planning to produce ethanol.

RiverWright spent more than $1.5 million refurbishing the 4.4 million bushel grain handling facility as part of its fuel production plans before selling it to Whitebox in June for $2 million. Buffalo businessman Rick Smith III, a principal in River- Wright, said he’s thrilled to see the elevator come back to life.

“This is the first time one of these old beauties has been brought back from the dead here in Buffalo. She’s come full circle,” Smith said.

RiverWright’s rehabilitation of the elevator included installation of new electrical and conveyor systems, plus general clean-up of the neglected complex. Whitebox has continued to modernize the silos, including installation of a mechanized hopper which allows it to receive grain shipments from “self-unloading” freighters.

Whitebox representatives declined to comment on their Buffalo operation, but local grain handling sources confirmed the commodities company received a 400,000 bushel shipment of wheat Monday morning. The load was delivered to the site from Owen Sound, Ont. by the lake freighter American Fortitude.

In addition to providing a critical test of the Lake & Rail’s new ship unloading machinery, the docking of the 690-foot-long American Fortitude marked the farthest up the Buffalo River a ship that size has ever traveled. The freighter, which is part of the Buffalo-based American Steamship fleet, is one of the largest haulers on the Great Lakes.

The giant freighter was guided up the Buffalo River by two tugboats, the New Jersey and the Washington. It was estimated it would take a minimum of 12 hours to unload the inaugural grain shipment.

Whitebox, an investment group which specializes in grain futures trading, recently moved into “hands on” grain handling and storage through the acquisition of grain silos in the Midwest and in Buffalo.

It’s estimated Whitebox has brought in more than 2 million bushels of wheat by rail to the Lake & Rail site, just North of the Ohio Street lift bridge, over the past few months. There was a flurry of activity at the site last weekend, with more than 50 rail cars, each carrying some 3,000 bushels of wheat, unloaded at the facility.

Whitebox, which controls more the 40 million bushels of elevator capacity at its silo portfolio, is able to boost its revenues by timing sales of its grain assets to achieve higher yields.

As Whitebox switches into high gear at Lake & Rail, River- Wright continues its push toward ethanol production at the 23-acre site. Smith said although his group failed to meet its initial goal of starting alternative fuel production in 2007, RiverWright is now working toward a 2010 start.

“Our timetable has changed, but we’re forging ahead. Right now the focus is on bringing some big investors to the project and we’ve just signed an extension to the due diligence period on that,” Smith said.

As it has sought investors, RiverWright has also worked its way through regulatory and permit processes, and fended off a lawsuit aimed at preventing ethanol production at the site. RiverWright owns the American, Perot and Marine ‘A’ elevators along the Buffalo River with a combined storage capacity of 6.3 million bushels.