SASKATOON – The agriculture machinery company Flexi-Coil has announced an $18 million, three-part expansion plan.
In a news release, the company said work will start immediately on a 19,000- sq.-metre addition to the Saskatoon plant which will provide new space for manufacturing and product development. The building will be ready for initial production by mid-1996.
Another 3,600-sq.-metre building planned for next year at the same location will provide space for electronics manufacturing, a showroom and dealer training centre and additional office space.
A new 5,700-sq.-metre distribution centre will be built in Minot, N. D. in 1996 to support the company’s growing U.S. market.
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The company credits strong sales in the past few years, especially in the company’s line of seeding equipment, as being responsible for the expansion.
Flexi-Coil now has 1,500 people on staff. About 1,400 are in Saskatoon. The company estimates it will hire about 100 to 200 new people each year.
Larry Schneider, general manager of the Prairie Implement Manufacturers Association, said most machinery manufacturers on the Prairies are going “gangbusters.”
“Everybody is over capacity. If they had two shifts, they now have three,” said Schneider, of Regina.
Good grain prices, a strong air seeder market and a favorable Canadian dollar compared to the American dollar all help sales, he said. The organization’s membership has also hit an all-time high because of good times in the machinery business. It now has 158 regular members, who are machinery manufacturers and 240 associate members, who supply parts to those manufacturers.
Everyone’s “gung ho,” said Schneider.
Earlier this year Doepker Industries of Anaheim, Sask. moved to Moose Jaw to expand its operation. The company makes grain, logging and flat-deck trailers.
Wendy Morris, president of Morris Industries in Yorkton, predicted 1995 will be another good year. In October the company moved its headquarters from Yorkton to Saskatoon.
Schneider said Degelman Industries of Regina plans to double the size of its shop. RAM Industries of Swift Current and Dutch Industries of Regina are also doing well.
Larger equipment sales increasing
Sales of large farm equipment are also improving. Sales of tractors and combines in March were more robust than year-earlier numbers, according to figures compiled by the Canadian Farm and Industrial Equipment Institute.
It is the first better-than-expected month in awhile.
Meanwhile, the CFIEI predicted that sales numbers will be strong again in April.
Still, despite stronger March sales, year-over-year sales to the end of March were lower than last year’s three-month totals – more than five percent lower for tractors and 45 percent lower for combines.
To the end of March, just 251 self-propelled combines had been sold, compared to 459 last year.
