Winnipeg grain firm Richardson International has started work on a new high-throughput grain elevator in southwestern Saskatchewan, to be bookended by smaller elevators it already operates in the region.
The company said Monday it began construction work earlier this month at Carmichael, about 65 km southwest of Swift Current, about three km south of the Trans-Canada Highway on the Canadian Pacific Railway mainline.
Expected to be ready by fall next year, the Carmichael elevator will have 46,000 tonnes of storage capacity with a loop track for handling 175 high cube-style rail cars, “high speed” receiving and loadout, and a “high capacity” grain cleaning system.
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Once the new elevator is built, Richardson said, it will start construction on “crop inputs assets” at the site including a high-speed fertilizer blender and a 10,000-square foot warehouse, both to be up and running by fall 2023.
“Richardson has maintained a significant presence and loyal customer base in the southwestern part of the province and will continue to seek opportunities for improving operational efficiencies,” Tom Hamilton, Richardson’s senior vice-president for agribusiness operations, said in a release.
In the same area, Richardson already has a 29,920-tonne capacity elevator at Swift Current; a 19,000-tonne capacity elevator it bought from Viterra in 2013 at Maple Creek, about 70 km west of Carmichael; and a 31,900-tonne capacity elevator it bought from Agricore United in 2007 at Reed Lake, about 50 km east of Swift Current.
“With the addition of the new facility at Carmichael, we look to bridge our historical presence in the area with the realities of meeting our grower customers’ evolving business needs,” Hamilton said. — Glacier FarmMedia Network
