OMAHA — The Scoular Co. has acquired a grain-handling facility in Atlanta, a small town in south central Nebraska, from an independent producer.

The 770,000-bu steel upright facility will be used by Scoular to receive wheat, corn and soybeans, said Mark Mossman, who heads Scoular grain facilities in Nebraska.

“The Atlanta location will be operated as a satellite to our larger grain-handling operation in Holdrege,” he said. “We’ve leased this facility two of the past three years, and we’re glad to have it as a permanent part of our operation. It puts us closer to some of our farmer customers, so we can be there when they need us, especially at harvest.”

Scoular said it will install a new scale at the facility and will modify the site’s traffic pattern to enhance the flow of trucks in and out of the facility. The work is expected to be completed by the middle of June, preceding the 2012 wheat harvest.

Scoular operates 16 other Nebraska grain-handling facilities in addition to the Atlanta facility. Overall, Scoular has more than 70 offices and facilities across North America.