Richardson International Limited, Winnipeg, Man., announced on Feb. 20 that it has acquired Agland Seed and Chemical Ltd., a retail crop inputs business located in the northern Alberta community of La Crete. The transaction closed on Feb. 19, with all former Agland employees joining the Richardson Pioneer team.
“With Ag Business Centres throughout the Peace River region of Alberta, the La Crete location will complement our existing Richardson Pioneer network,” said Tom Hamilton, vice president of Agribusiness Operations for Richardson. “We look forward to building relationships with producers in the area and providing them with leading seed, fertilizer, and crop protection technologies, in addition to year-round support with our CropWatch™ agronomy team supported by our leading edge CropMatrix platform.”
Richardson said the La Crete area was identified as a gap within its Pioneer crop inputs network in Western Canada. The company said the new location will complement its nearest Ag Business Centre in High Level, Alta.
“We are very happy to announce this transaction,” said George Unrau, co-owner of Agland. “We share the same community and business values with Richardson Pioneer. We know that under the Richardson Pioneer umbrella, we will be able to not only continue to provide the excellent service our customers have grown to know, but we will be able to expand our offerings for customers, giving them the best possible products and services.”
Richardson has been expanding its crop inputs network through both acquisitions and new builds in recent years. The company in 2018 opened new crop inputs centers in Wakaw, Pasqua, and Elrose, Sask., and announced last September (GM Sept. 14, 2018) that it was constructing a new full-service crop inputs facility in Delisle, Sask.
Recent acquisitions include Eagle Agro Services Ltd., a full-service retail crop inputs business in Veteran, Alta.; Bestland Air Ltd., an independent crop inputs retailer located near Starbuck, Man. (GM Dec. 15, 2017); two full-service retail facilities in Vermilion and Forestburg, Alta. (GM Sept. 1, 2017); Crop First Agro in Grenfell, Sask. (GM Feb. 3, 2017); and 10 retail crop inputs locations from CHS Canada in October 2017 (GM Nov. 3, 2017).
The company also reported on Feb. 25 that it has completed the acquisition of Wesson, the U.S.-based retail cooking oil brand. The deal was first announced on Dec. 18, 2018, and includes the Wesson production facility in Memphis, Tenn., which has more than 120 employees.
Richardson is Canada’s largest agribusiness, with more than 2,700 employees across Canada, the U.S., and the U.K. The company is a global handler and merchandiser of all major Canadian-grown grains and oilseeds and is a vertically-integrated processor and manufacturer of oats and canola-based products. Richardson also operates port terminals at Vancouver, B.C., Hamilton and Thunder-Bay, Ont., and Sorel, Quebec. Richardson Pioneer is the company’s agronomy division.