Can-Oat Milling plans expansion

15/12/05 Can-Oat Milling Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Saskatchewan Wheat Pool Inc., has announced a major capital expansion to Can-Oat Milling's Portage la Prairie, Manitoba plant. The company expects to process an additional 50,000 metric tonnes of oats as a result, bringing its total milling capacity to over 340,000 metric tonnes per year.

The expansion, estimated to cost $12 million, will include the addition of primary processing capacity, flaking capacity, high-speed bagging line, on-site storage, and in-house workspace. Construction is slated to begin in the spring of 2006 with new capacity coming on stream approximately 14 months later.

When complete, Can-Oat Milling will process 1.4 million pounds of finished oat ingredients per day.

Can-Oat will also invest $1.7 million over the next 10 months on new biomass fired boiler technology, which will enable Can-Oat to burn oat hulls for its process steam requirements. This hull burning equipment will replace a significant portion of its natural gas usage and reduce its annual energy costs by more than 60 per cent. Savings are expected beginning in the fall of 2006.

Can-Oat is the largest industrial oat processor in the world. Can-Oat Milling operates state-of-the-art oat milling facilities in Portage la Prairie, Manitoba and Martensville, Saskatchewan. The company is a leading supplier of primary and finished food ingredients, including a full range of oat-based products like old fashioned flakes; quick cooking oats; baby oat flakes; oat bran; oat flour; whole oat groats and steelcut oat groats.

Can-Oat Milling Inc., the general partner of Can-Oat Milling Limited Partnership, is wholly owned by Saskatchewan Wheat Pool, a publicly traded agribusiness headquartered in Regina, Saskatchewan. Anchored by Prairie-wide grain handling and agri-products marketing network, the Pool channels Prairie production to end-use markets in North America and around the world. These operations are complemented by agri-food processing and strategic alliances that allow the Pool to leverage its pivotal position between Prairie farmers and destination customers.

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