Richardson to Acquire Great Northern Grain Facility in Alberta

The Nampa acquisition is Richardson’s fourth acquisition in the Peace River region in the last two years, which includes the purchase of crop input centres in Falher, Fairview and Manning in 2010.

Jan 27 2012 --- Richardson International Limited is pleased to announce 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 February 9, 2012.

“We are excited to add the Nampa facility to our Richardson Pioneer network,” says Darwin Sobkow, Vice-President, Agribusiness Operations for Richardson. “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.”

The Nampa grain facility currently has 17,300 metric tonnes 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 tonnes of grain storage and increase the facility’s rail car spot to handle 104-car unit trains. The company will also add fertilizer storage and a 200-tonne 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 acquisition in the Peace River region in the last two years, which includes the purchase of crop input centres in Falher, Fairview and Manning in 2010. Richardson is also nearing completion of a 20,000-tonne fertilizer storage shed with rail receiving at its Dunvegan facility in Rycroft, Alberta. With a 200-tonne per hour blending capability and 300-tonne per hour distribution rate, this new fertilizer shed will be a distribution centre for Richardson’s other Peace River sites.

“The Peace River area is a key production area in Western Canada,” adds Sobkow. “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.”

Current employees at Great Northern Grain’s Nampa facility will be offered the opportunity to join the Richardson team.

Richardson International is Canada’s largest, privately owned agribusiness and has served farmers across the country for 155 years. Based in Winnipeg, Richardson has over 1,700 employees across Canada 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.