Koch Fertilizer is committed to Brandon.
Over the next five years, the American company plans to spend $130 million on its nitrogen fertilizer plant in Brandon.
The first chunk of money, $33 million, will pay for an administration building for operations, logistics and sales staff. The new building will house more than 100 employees.
“Brandon is a critical part of the company’s overall operations, and we are always looking for ways to improve for our customers,” said plant manager Paul Liddle in a late April news release on the Koch investment. “Not only are we making a significant investment in our business and our community, but our plans are a clear demonstration we are growing in Manitoba and believe we have a strong future in the province.”
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In addition to the $33 million administration building, Koch intends to spend about $100 million on upgrades, expansion and improving efficiencies at the nitrogen plant.
Koch has annual sales of more than $110 billion. After Cargill, it is the second-largest privately held company in the United States. It bought the Brandon plant from Simplot about 12 years ago. In 2014, Koch spent more than $30 million to expand the plant.
The facility employs about 300 people and ships out 400 to 600 truckloads and 300 to 400 rail cars of nitrogen fertilizer each month, according to the City of Brandon website.
The plant serves farmers in Western Canada and the northern Plains of the U.S., producing anhydrous ammonia, urea, UAN solutions, nitric acid, ammonium nitrate solution, ammonium polyphosphate and ammonium thiosulfate.
Koch also manufactures fertilizer at plants in Iowa, Nebraska, Kansas and Oklahoma.
