Lethbridge facility transition | Employees from the closed plant will move to Hi-Pro’s upgraded feed facility or Parrish and Heimbecker’s flour mill
Hi-Pro Feeds’ deal to buy New-Life Mills in Lethbridge was announced Nov. 26, and New-Life was permanently closed five days later.
The purchase, for an undisclosed sum, represents consolidation in the southern Alberta feed industry.
New-Life is a division of Parrish and Heimbecker, and its Lethbridge facility was adjacent to the company’s flour mill. It has been in business since 1964.
The Hi-Pro purchase is for the business only, not the property.
Hi-Pro, with head offices in Okotoks, Alta., and a mill in Lethbridge, acquired feed business assets from Viterra in 2012. It has a network of 12 feed mills in the United States and Canada.
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Holly Nicoll, marketing director for Hi-Pro Feeds, said feed formerly available at New-Life will now be produced at Hi-Pro’s Lethbridge facility.
“A large portion of (New-Life’s) business was poultry, then beef, followed by some swine and dairy. Over at Hi-Pro, we have the ability to make the same products as what New-Life has been producing for their customers.”
Hi-Pro has invested $4 million over the past three years at its Lethbridge mill, which included six new ingredient tanks, a new grinding system, two more hammer mills, an additional pelletting line and modernization of two other pellet mills.
Hi-Pro senior vice-president and founder Daren Kennett said in a news release that quality and efficiency are the watchwords.
“We are dedicated to ensuring that livestock producers in the region receive the highest quality animal nutrition and expertise in the market,” he said.
New-Life employed 12 people, three of whom will now work for Hi-Pro. They include former New-Life general manager Jassen Jackman and territory salespeople Sherry Zarowny and Doug Holt.
“Nobody is losing their job with this acquisition because we took the sales staff from the feed plant over to Hi-Pro and then the rest of the employees are actually moving over to the flour mill at Parrish and Heimbecker,” said Nicoll.
One former New-Life employee has chosen to retire and the other eight will continue at P & H.
Information was sent to customers of New-Life and Hi-Pro in conjunction with announcement of the deal, and Nicoll said salespeople and Kennett have been meeting with larger customers to aid in what the company hopes will be a seamless transition.
Potential increases in feed costs are among the primary questions asked, said Nicoll. “What we’re striving to do is be more efficient and cost effective and we will continue to do that.”
