Port of Churchill gets new manager, higher goals

Winnipeg-Pat Avery has joined OmniTRAX Canada Inc. as its vice president of energy and commodities, and will oversee operations at the Port of Churchill and the Churchill Marine Tank Farm in northern Manitoba. Avery’s duties there will include expanding the handling, movement, and storage of fuel, freight, and related services. He will also market the Port of Churchill and the tank farm to the northern territory of Nunavut and international markets. “We are pleased to have a person with Pat Avery’s knowledge, experience and expertise join our team,” said Gary Long, CEO of OmniTRAX. “He has already made significant contributions to our operations.” OmniTRAX Canada, an affiliate of OmniTRAX Inc. of Denver, Colo., has operated the Port of Churchill and the Hudson Bay Railway since 1997. The Port is Canada’s only deep-water Arctic port. It serves more than 30 countries in the export of grain from the prairie provinces, and is a key trade link with Nunavut. In 2009, the Port handled one of the highest tonnages on record with 529,000 mt of wheat for the Canadian Wheat Board. In October 2007 the Port made fertilizer news when it received 10,000 mt of Russian ammonium nitrate brought in by Farmers of North America (FNA), a Saskatoon-based farmers’ cooperative (GM Oct. 22, 2007). A first for Manitoba, the 2007 fertilizer delivery was heralded by FNA and port officials as a game-changer for farmers in Western Canada. Avery comes to the Port with more than 15 years of experience in the energy and fuel business across North America, including jobs with ARCO and Santa Fe Pacific Pipeline. He also worked in the fertilizer, chemical, and grain business with JR Simplot for more than a decade, including a two-year stint at Simplot’s Brandon, Manitoba, facility. “I am pleased to join such a dynamic and forward thinking company as OmniTRAX,” Avery said. “This company is dedicated to growing and diversifying its business through the Port of Churchill and I look forward to assisting with those endeavors. This is an opportunity for growth and employment for the people of Northern Manitoba and Nunavut.” Avery said he’d like to see the port handle canola, flax, peas, and other specialty crops in addition to wheat. He also said he plans to pursue contacts in the fertilizer and mining sectors to expand fertilizer and mining-industry equipment shipments through the port.