Shareholders in Saskatchewan Wheat Pool Inc. were reminded last week how the company recovered from staggering debt and the brink of bankruptcy to post two consecutive profitable years.
Next month, business leaders from around the world will hear the story, too.
A team from Harvard University business school just completed a case study of the grain handler’s past, present and future and will present it to more than 200 people at Harvard in January, said chief executive officer Mayo Schmidt.
The interest from the prestigious school comes after five years of struggle and change, culminating with the move from a co-operative to a corporation with a single class of common voting shares.
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The company now has a new vision statement, mission and core values, Schmidt said.
The vision – a solutions company unlocking potential – is open-ended and intended to encourage employees to go beyond the regular service model, he said.
The company’s mission is three-pronged: to “seek sustainable profitable growth by leveraging our agricultural value chain expertise”; “engage people and utilize assets and technology to provide innovative solutions that exceed expectations” and “embrace teamwork and boundless entrepreneurial spirit.”
Its core values include creativity, ethical management practices and responsibility for results.
Schmidt said the pool will attempt to increase its business through regional acquisitions, something it hasn’t been able to do recently.
“There have been a number of dispositions for sale over the last couple of years and during that time we simply weren’t in position to take the necessary steps to making a meaningful impact on those events, but now that we have one of the strongest balance sheets in the industry in North America we’re certainly in position to make quality decisions,” he told reporters.
The pool’s western Canadian market share over the last year increased from 21 to 23 percent. Schmidt said that represents a lot of volume and customers.
During a question and answer session with shareholders, he was asked why members of the board don’t own more shares.
“I don’t consider myself to be a large shareholder, but based on the information (provided to shareholders) I own more shares than half the board,” said one shareholder in a written question.
Schmidt said that doesn’t signal a lack of confidence in the company.
However, in August, the board approved a requirement that each director hold $150,000 in shares within five years.
“The board has also engaged an outside firm that specializes in compensation and share ownership that is working on a program for the officers of the company as well,” he said.
Company officers were prohibited from buying shares during the restructuring process, he said, although he personally acquired shares during the one available opportunity.
Schmidt also said the company’s relationship with the Canadian Wheat Board is solid, with more than 60 percent of the company’s business done through the CWB.
