Local elevator succeeding against all odds

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This article was published 12/11/2010 (5737 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The owners of a grain elevator in Brunkild are bucking a provincial trend with plans to increase the facility’s production capacity.

Besco Grains Ltd. is poised to expand its operations in Brunkild to meet a growing demand for services, according to plant manager Jamie Stelmachowich.

“We are expanding to be more of a multi-functional bagging facility (for products) that are destined for international markets,” Stelmachowich said.

“This will be a state-of-the-art system that will minimize the manual aspect of packaging.”

Stelmachowich said that the improved bagging system will increase capacity at the Brunkild elevator by several thousand tonnes each year. It will also create two new jobs at the facility.

“We have four full-time employees now and once we finish expanding we will be adding two more positions,” he said.

Stelmachowich said he expects that work on the expansion will begin within the next couple of weeks and will be com­pleted before the end of the year.

The facility currently processes mostly mustard seed from Saskatchewan.

Keystone Agricultural Producers vice-president Doug Chorney said Besco’s plans are good news for communities like Brunkild, considering many smaller elevators in rural Manitoba are closing rather than expanding.

“The majority of smaller elevators in Western Canada have closed down, there is no doubt about that,” he said. “There are examples of smaller elevators growing their business, but this is definitely not the norm.”

Chorney said the company’s expansion plans are a tribute to its creative marketing.

“I am not aware of all of (Besco’s) operations, but they are doing some special marketing of niche crops,” he said.

“Obviously there are a lot of opportunities for these smaller niche operations, and they are just another example of one of these success stories.”

Stelmachowich acknowledged that much of the company’s recent success in Brunkild can be attributed to the fact it is catering to specialty markets, including mustard seed producers.

Besco is already considering additional expansion plans, although Stelmachowich declined to provide specific details.
“We have things in the works,” he confirmed.

prescott.james@canstarnews.com