SASKATOON – A Sept. 30 deadline set for CanRa Processors to find cash to soothe its ailing bankbook has come and gone. But the Swift Current, Sask., business is hanging on.
The Saskatchewan Government Growth fund foreclosed on the slaughtering company at the end of September, and is now negotiating with four potential investors to keep the plant going.
Gary Benson of the growth fund said CanRa had been in default on its debt for some time, and estimates the government has sunk about $650,000 into the plant.
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“We don’t necessarily want to be involved in this thing anymore,” he said.
But he said the growth fund would like to see the plant continue as a federally inspected abattoir because it is one of only three licensed rabbit processing plants in Canada.
Calling all cash
“We’re hopeful somebody with deep pockets will come to the table this time,” Benson said.
Originally called Wapos Inc., the plant was unable to find a stable market for its product, and was bailed out of debt by the growth fund in 1993.
Investors Peter Wilkins and Hans Mehrle entered the scene in 1994, assuming the debt and investing their own money.
The new owners announced plans to market their product in Australia earlier this year but they had trouble regaining the confidence of rabbit suppliers. That left CanRa with a demand for their special meats, but no supply.
The plant had been operating at only 20 percent of its slaughtering capacity according to Benson. Wilkins had no comment.
Benson said the new investors are looking at expanding the plant to process other special meats like fallow deer or ostrich.
“It makes money if the plant is fully utilized,” he said.
CanRa is not processing meat until a deal is reached with new investors, but the Saskatchewan Growth Fund is maintaining breeding stock and the office.
