The Winnipeg, Manitoba-based company announced Thursday [December 12] that it was expanding its growing feed grain and oilseed supply chain with two new grain elevators.
The grain storage, movement and marketing company is focused on developing a new path to move feed ingredients and grains from the field to the global market. It currently has elevators in Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta.
The two new facilities – G3 Vermilion, Alberta and G3 Swift Current, Saskatchewan – are located in important producing regions, said Brett Malkoske, G3 Canada Limited VP of business development. The sites are also part of the company’s ongoing network development and expansion plans.
“We choose the locations of our new elevators very carefully and select locations with great access to highway and rail transportation,” he told FeedNavigator. “Both of these locations are very well positioned to offer fast and efficient service to area farmers, and to keep grain moving to market through our new grain export terminal, G3 Terminal Vancouver, which is opening in 2020.”
The company handles a range of feed grains and food grains along with oilseeds, Malkoske said. “Most of the grain we handle is destined for export through G3 Terminal Vancouver,” he added.
The company started growing its network of high-efficiency grain elevators across western Canada in 2015, he said. “We now have five elevators under construction, plus the two we just announced.”
It is building high-efficiency elevators in Wetaskiwin, Carmangay, Morinville, Irricana and Stettler County in Alberta.
Elevator highlights and expansion efforts
The upcoming facility in Vermilion, Alberta is set to have a 34,000-ton capacity and is connected to CN Rail, the company reported. The site in Swift Current, Saskatchewan is on CP Rail and designed to have 42,000 tons of storage capacity.
Both elevators are intended to have high-efficiency features including a loop track with the ability to rapidly unload a 150-car unit train and the ability to empty a Super-B truck in less than five minutes.
“All of G3’s new assets are designed to set a new standard for rail efficiency,” said Malkoske. “Grain trains will load under continuous motion in a matter of hours at our loop track elevators on the Prairies and unload just as quickly at the loop tracks in Vancouver.”
“Our modern facilities also mean faster service and more delivery opportunities for farmers,” he added.
Construction on both sites is expected to start in early 2020, the company said. Pending the completion of regulatory approvals, both locations are set to open in 2021.