Manufacturing | Transportation & Logistics
Vice president
The DeLong Co. Inc. | Clinton
Bo DeLong started working full-time in the fertilizer division of The Delong Co. in 1974. He became manager of its grain division in 1982 and now serves as vice president of grain, having responsibility for the company’s 14 grain elevators and its export program. He is credited with helping grow the sixth-generation, family-owned business from exporting primarily to Japan to now exporting to more than 20 different markets. The company is the country’s largest exporter of containerized agriculture products, with soybeans making up more than half of the company’s total volume. This year, it was No. 27 on Deloitte’s Wisconsin 75 list, which ranks the largest private companies in Wisconsin by sales revenue. The company employs between 350-400 full-time, part-time and seasonal employees throughout the year.
The DeLong Co. is currently building a $40 million agriculture maritime export facility at Port Milwaukee, the largest one-time investment in the port since the 1950s. The new facility will be one of the first on the Great Lakes – St. Lawrence Seaway system to handle various agricultural commodities via truck, rail and international vessel, including dried distillers grains with solubles, an animal feed supplement derived from ethanol-high nutrients. The Delong terminal is expected to generate $63 million in new statewide economic impact annually, increasing exports through the Port by as much as 400,000 metric tons per year, according to the Wisconsin Department of Transportation. Bo DeLong has said the facility will open export opportunities to Europe, Africa and the Middle East.