Another grain company has announced it will add to the list of inland terminals going up in southwestern Manitoba.
N.M. Paterson and Sons Ltd. will build a 10,886-tonne concrete terminal at Killarney, Man. by early 1999.
The company joins ConAgra, which is building a 27,200 tonne terminal in the Brandon-Souris area, and Saskatchewan Wheat Pool’s Ag Pro subsidiary, which is building 35,000 to 40,000-tonne terminals at Brandon and Boissevain.
United Grain Growers already has a 23,500 tonne facility at Souris.
The Paterson terminal will not displace the 8,200 tonne elevator the company has operated in Killarney since 1922, said Andrew Paterson, chief executive officer of the company’s grain division.
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“We know what the farmers can produce in the area and they support us well, so what more could you ask for?”
As for other Paterson facilities in nearby towns like Minto, Fairfax, Boissevain and Crystal City, Paterson said his company will see how business goes in the area.
He said the company has built four other terminals to date without closing any smaller facilities.
“When you’re a smaller operator with 50 elevators, you don’t really need to close them to justify their (terminals’) existence.”
Announcements from competitors spurred the company to develop, Paterson said.
“Ag Pro kind of surprised me, ConAgra didn’t,” he said. “We have been well-established in that area, where both of those competitors will have something to prove.”
The more efficient terminals with their attractive prices may affect smaller elevators in the region, Paterson said. Within a 50 kilometre radius of Killarney, there are 13 smaller facilities owned by the company’s competitors.
The company also announced it will build a similar terminal at Dunmore, Alta. for completion next spring.
Paterson said advantageous rail rates drew the company to the site, near Medicine Hat.
