A conceptual drawing of what the new Bunge canola crushing facility will look like upon completion

Site preparation work had already begun, but the official sod turning for Bunge's new canola crushing facility in Altona took place Tuesday. The plant is being built just north of the current facility, and will essentially double the company's crush capacity in the community moving to 2,500 to 3,000 tonnes per day. Concrete pouring will begin soon, with building construction expected to begin over the winter months.

 

Bunge North America C.E.O. Soren Schroder tells us this is really just the first step in a much broader Western Canadian expansion plan. He says this is demand driven growth, pointing to Bunge's success in growing the demand for canola as well as canola meal. Schroder feels there is a bright future ahead for canola, even with production doubling over the last six or seven years. He sees that growth continuing, driven by a demand for healthier oils and the fact the world needs more vegetable oil of the type canola can provide. Schroder feels Canadian canola production can grow from the current 13 to 14 million tonnes per year to 20 million tonnes by the end of the decade.

Schroder says the plant will be state of the art, and will draw upon Bunge's experiences and best practices at its facilities around the world. He feels the new plant be a standard in efficiency, hoping it will be the most efficient plant in Canada.

 

Without giving exact numbers, Schroder admits this expansion is a large monetary commitment to Western Canadian agriculture, canola farmers specifically. He adds the Altona facility is also just one of probably three or four other steps coming soon.

 

 

Schroder tells us the current facility will be shut down once the new plant comes online sometime in the first quarter of 2013. He says keeping the current plant running while the new facility is under construction means there will be no disruption in service to farmers or customers. Once the new plant is operational, many of the current structures located south of 10th Avenue North West will be taken down, with some parts repurposed in the new facility.

 

Bunge Operations Manager for Canada Mark Roe, Country Manager Rick Watson, Chairman and C.E.O. Alberto Weisser, Portage Lisgar M.P. Candice Hoeppner, Provincial Ag Minister Stan Struthers, Bunge C.E.O. for North America Soren Schroder, Plant Manager Fred Dueck and Altona Mayor Melvin Klassen turn the sod on the Bunge plant project.