The pattern of mergers and acquisitions continues in the pulse industry.
Germany’s largest grain trader has bought a North Battleford, Sask., pulse icon. And Canada’s largest lentil processor has added another asset in North Dakota.
Alfred C. Toepfer International has purchased Western Grain Trade Ltd. and Western Grain Cleaning &Processing Ltd. for an undisclosed amount.
Toepfer, which is majority owned by Archer Daniels Midland, has been operating as a grain trader in Canada since 1974 but this is its first foray into the grain processing sector in this country.
Read Also
Alberta crop diversification centres receive funding
$5.2 million of provincial funding pumped into crop diversity research centres
Toepfer Canada president Lawrence Yakielashek said the purchase allows the company to better meet the needs of its customers who want to know more about their food.
“I can envision in a couple of years from now where some of the end users are going to want to know exactly what parcel of land that product came from. Now we have the ability to do that,” he said.
The sale includes Western Grain’s two North Battleford processing plants, which process peas, lentils, canaryseed, mustard and flax and the Saskatoon sales and accounting office. All 18 employees are keeping their jobs.
“Everything that we’ve acquired stays intact. We’re not going to make any fundamental changes to the operation. In fact, we’re going to add some value to it. We’re going to put a little bit of money into the operation to make it more efficient,” said Yakielashek.
Heidi Dutton, general manager for Western Grain, said the deal gives the North Battleford firm the ability to grow its business by gaining access to Toepfer’s 38 branch offices around the world.
“We want to do more volumes by using a first class worldwide network to distribute the grain,” she said.
Western Grain has excess capacity at its two plants, where the company has been processing special crops since 1990 and exporting them around the world since 1999.
The company will be adding a few new crops to the mix including canola and possibly some board grains in the post single desk environment.
“We’re obviously not doing it right now but I definitely wouldn’t rule it out,” said Dutton.
“We’re definitely open to and excited about the possibility of handling more products through our elevators.”
On the same day Toepfer made its announcement, Alliance Grain Traders Inc. issued a news release saying it had acquired the assets of a pulse processing plant in Minot, North Dakota.
The facility was never completed or commissioned by the previous owners, C &F Foods Inc., Real Partner Investments LLC and MCL Ag Investments Partnership LLP.
The sale includes the main building, storage facilities and processing equipment that is ready for installation.
Alliance has set aside $12 million to buy the assets and finish the project by installing the pulse processing equipment and adding additional capacity to create food ingredients out of the pulses, such as flours, proteins, starches and fibres for the North American and European markets.
“This facility is all about firming up our North American capacity and moving up the value chain with a focus on pulse ingredients and beans for the food sector,” said Alliance president Murad Al-Katib.
“The fact that the building is already built, the storage is constructed and the equipment is ready for installation gives us a timing advantage and means it will be ready for the 2012 harvest season.”
The new plant augments Alliance’s existing processing capacity at its facility in Williston, N.D.
Dutton expects more of these types of announcements in Western Canada’s grain sector going forward.
“The mergers and the acquisitions in the grain world are going to continue and need to continue so that the industry becomes more efficient,” she said.
Yakielashek said Toepfer isn’t looking at making any other purchases at this time but it will explore opportunities.
