A Minnesota company is expanding into Canada to take advantage of the growing demand for tile drainage.
Prinsco Inc. of Willmar, Minn., announced just before Christmas it had bought AccuPipe, a high density polyethylene pipe manufacturer in Winkler, Man.
In addition to the Winkler plant, Prinsco plans to build a drainage pipe manufacturing facility in Taber, Alta., this year.
“Our company vision is to provide industry leading solutions for agricultural efficiency and water quality, which is critically important on the Canadian Prairies,” said Jamie Dunnick, Prinsco owner, in a statement.
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Chris Unrau, who operates Precision Land Solutions, a Winkler company that installs tile drainage across Manitoba, formed AccuPipe in 2012 to support his core business.
“We’ve seen so much demand for our services in recent years that we’ve had difficulty obtaining supply of pipe,” Unrau said in June 2012.
“We didn’t have much of a choice; we had to do something to keep our equipment running and help our clients meet their production goals.”
Over the last decade, dozens of Manitoba growers have opted for drainage tile to manage soil moisture, prevent crop damage in exceptionally wet years and increase the value of their land.
Most of the drainage tile in Manitoba has been installed under potato land, but oilseed farmers are also spending $700 to $800 per acre on tile.
Anecdotal evidence suggests drainage tile can increase yields by 15 to 20 percent and remove the standing water caused by 100 millimetre rainstorms.
Unrau said Prinsco, which has formed a new division called Prinsco Canada, will offer an expanded product line.
“We are excited about being able to focus our time and resources on the installation side of the business,” he said.
“Prinsco Canada and Precision Land Solutions will continue to work closely together to advance the use of water management practices.”
Prinsco, which started in 1975, operates pipe-manufacturing plants in Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri, California, South Dakota, North Dakota and Wisconsin.
