Richardson’s canola crush plant in Yorkton set to expand

Richardson International Ltd.’s canola crush plant in Yorkton is growing.

The Winnipeg-based company announced Monday an investment that will double the processing capacity of the plant to 2.2 million metric tonnes per year.

Construction is to begin immediately and is expected to be done by early 2024. Current operations at the plant won’t be affected by the construction.

“This state-of-the-art facility represents a good news story for all industry participants — for our producer customers and end-use buyers across North America and abroad,” Keith Belitski, the company’s direction of operations in Yorkton, said in a media release.

“A construction project of this magnitude will be significant, economically, to the province of Saskatchewan, the city of Yorkton, and surrounding areas.”

The facility is to include a high-speed shipping system with three 9,500-foot loop tracks as well as three high-speed receiving lanes to help producers and trucking partners deliver seed. The plant is to be served by both major railways.

“The global outlook for Canadian canola oil is promising, and this latest investment emphasizes our ongoing commitment to best-in-class facilities,” Darrell Sobkow, Richardson’s senior vice-president of processing, food and ingredients, said in the release.

“Yorkton lies right in the heart of canola country and we are focused on providing our producer customers with increasingly efficient means for meeting the needs of a growing global consumptive market.”

The plant is expected to create jobs during the construction phase and after its completion.

“Saskatchewan is a leader in agricultural production and we welcome this investment to increase canola crush capacity in the province,” Saskatchewan Agriculture Minister David Marit said in a government media release.

“We know the world wants the high-quality products Saskatchewan produces, with canola oil and canola meal our top value-added exports in 2020. This expansion of processing capacity will help Saskatchewan meet the goals outlined in our Growth Plan, which includes a target to crush 75 per cent of the canola our province produces here in Saskatchewan.”