A bigger and better Newfield Seeds plant is expected to be back in
business next fall.
Fire destroyed the company’s seed cleaning plant in Nipawin, Sask.,
last spring, along with several million dollars worth of inventory.
But last week the company, a major exporter of forage seeds, announced
plans to rebuild in the northeastern Saskatchewan town.
The new plant will be built over the next 11 months at a cost of more
than $7 million, according to Newfield’s managing director John Doege.
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“We plan to be back in operation by Sept. 1,” he said.
He told a news conference the new state-of-the-art facility will
provide more space, options for future expansion and new opportunities
for local forage seed growers.
“In meeting our growers’ needs and maintaining our long-term
relationship with local producers, we know that remaining in this area
of Saskatchewan is key.”
Doege said in an interview that planning for the company’s future began
immediately after the May 13 fire, which started in the plant’s
electrical room and spread to a nearby forest, forcing the evacuation
of two seniors’ housing complexes.
“As early as that next morning we had a senior management meeting and
looked at how do we keep our business running in the wake of the
disaster,” he said.
In the months since the fire, the company set up a bagging operation
and had several bulk bins in place to buy seed from local producers.
It struck deals with several smaller cleaning plants in the area that
would clean rough seed and then return it to Newfield for bagging.
“To date we’ve been able to do the same business we would otherwise
have done, but our heavy season is winter and there is no way
physically we can keep up,” Doege said.
He said the company’s goal is to hold its own in the international
marketplace over the next year.
“We certainly don’t have room for growth, but the plan is to maintain
our customer base for when the new plant is up and running.”
Newfield exports more than 60 percent of its seed. The United States is
its major customer, with other destinations including China, Europe and
South America. While its major business is forages, it also deals in
cereals, oilseeds, pulses and birdfeed.
Newfield was founded by local businessperson H. G. Neufeld in 1947.
Svalof Weibul AB of Sweden, one of Europe’s largest plant breeding and
seed companies, bought it in 1991.
