Commercial production at Legumex Walker’s new Pacific Coast Canola crush plant is underway.
The Washington facility has been operating since late July and is currently running at 50 percent capacity, said president and chief executive officer Joel Horn.
“We are fully capable of running the PCC plant at full production levels today, but it takes some time to fully develop the business as part of a normal transition into a commercial producer,” he said last week as the company reported its most recent financial results.
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“Many of the customers that we expect to sell to and will sell to forward buy product weeks if not months out. Now that we are commercially producing, we can work our way into their buying cycles.”
Once at full capacity, which the company expects to achieve later this year, the facility will be able to crush 1,100 metric tonnes of canola seed per day.
The company has already made a shipment to southeast Asia and is working to get approval to export into China, said Horn.
Legumex Walker sold almost 30,000 tonnes of canola oil and meal into the food and feed markets during the commissioning of the plant in the company’s second quarter 2013, which contributed to the company’s financial results.
Revenue was up, but profits were down during the period, the company reported last week.
The pulse, special crops and canola processor reported consolidated revenue of $112.1 million for the quarter, up from $68.5 million in 2012.
The company, however, recorded a net loss of $8.7 million for the period, attributed in part to costs of commissioning the new facility, increased administrative costs and smaller margins in edible beans.
The jump in revenue was attributed to increased sales from its special crops segment. Horn highlighted the company’s sunflower business, which it acquired last year, and an expansion of its bean processing capacity in China.
