Richardson to acquire Alberta facility
Richardson International Ltd., Winnipeg, Manitoba, announced Jan. 25 that it has entered into an agreement to purchase Great Northern Grain’s grain handling and crop input retail facility in Nampa, Alberta. The sale is expected to close by Feb. 9, 2012. Current employees at Great Northern facility will be offered the opportunity to join the Richardson team.
“We are excited to add the Nampa facility to our Richardson Pioneer network,” said Darwin Sobkow, vice president, Agribusiness Operations, for Richardson. “The Nampa facility will now give us a presence in both the eastern and western parts of the region and we look forward to providing greater service to customers.”
The Nampa grain facility currently has 17,300 mt of storage capacity, a full cleaning line for wheat and canola, and a 52-car spot on the CN rail line. The facility also has an 8,400-square-foot crop protection and seed warehouse for retailing crop input products.
This spring, Richardson will add an additional 14,000 mt of grain storage and increase the facility’s railcar spot to handle 104-car unit trains. The company will also add fertilizer storage and a 200 mt per hour blending system. These improvements, which will increase grain handling efficiencies and offer retail fertilizer services, are expected to be complete by fall.
The Nampa acquisition is Richardson’s fourth in the Peace River region in the last two years. In 2010, Richardson purchased crop input centers in Falher, Fairview, and Manning, and is also nearing completion of a 20,000 mt fertilizer storage shed with rail receiving at its Dunvegan facility in Rycroft, Alberta. With a 200 mt per hour blending capability and 300 mt per hour distribution rate, this new Dunvegan shed will be a distribution center for Richardson’s other Peace River sites.
“The Peace River area is a key production area in Western Canada,” Sobkow said. “Since 2007, Richardson has invested over $80 million in the Peace River region and we are committed to continuing to invest in this area to meet the growing needs of producers.”
Richardson is Canada’s largest, privately owned agribusiness, and has served farmers across the country for 155 years. Richardson has more than 1,700 employees and is a worldwide handler and merchandiser of all major Canadian-grown grains and oilseeds. Richardson is one of Canada’s 50 Best Managed Companies and is recognized as a global leader in agriculture and food processing.