James Richardson International (JRI) will expand storage capacity at two of its Pioneer Grain elevators in Alberta and rail car capacity at a third, the company announced Friday.
Pioneer’s facilities at Carseland, Lamont and Stirling “are great agri-centres and our investment in these projects will ensure that they meet their full potential,” JRI president Curt Vossen said in a release.
JRI’s planned expansions include:
- 13,500 tonnes’ worth of added storage space at Carseland (southeast of Calgary), increasing that elevator’s capacity by almost 45 per cent;
- 10,000 tonnes’ worth of added storage space at Lamont (northeast of Edmonton), increasing capacity there by 57 per cent; and
- doubling rail car capacity to 112 cars from 56 at the company’s elevator at Stirling, southeast of Lethbridge.
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The Carseland and Lamont expansions are expected to be ready by the end of this summer, while Stirling’s 112-car spot is expected to be operating in March, the company said.
JRI last year expanded its grain handling capacity by over 50 per cent by buying several elevators and ag input retail operations owned by the former Agricore United in all three Prairie provinces.
Saskatchewan Wheat Pool and JRI reached a $315 million deal for the AU facilities in May 2007 before SaskPool’s merger with AU as Viterra, partly to satisfy federal competition regulators.
Vossen said in JRI’s release that bringing the AU sites into the Pioneer network has been a “tremendous success,” giving the Winnipeg-based, privately-held firm a stronger Alberta presence.
That success in turn “certainly encouraged us to strengthen our presence in this province” through these expansions, he said.
