One of the four majors in global agrifood has bought expanded capacity in Saskatchewan’s pulse crop sourcing and processing space.
ADM on Wednesday announced having bought Prairie Pulse Inc., whose main asset its its pulse crop processing and packaging plant at Vanscoy, about 25 km southwest of Saskatoon.
Chicago-based ADM — known as the ‘A’ in the ‘ABCD’ group of the four dominant companies of the global grain trade — didn’t disclose the financial terms of its deal in its release Wednesday.
The Vanscoy plant’s operations include pea, lentil and chickpea origination, with 12,000 tonnes of bulk storage capacity. It also handles cleaning, dehulling, splitting, milling, sorting, sizing and bagging.
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In all, ADM said, the Prairie Pulse business will double its pulse-processing footprint in the region. The U.S. firm already has a pulse crop origination and cleaning plant about 150 km northwest of Vanscoy, at North Battleford, handling mainly lentils and peas.
“This addition also expands our capabilities to meet the needs of our downstream customers, who are increasingly looking at pulses as protein sources for both human and animal nutrition products,” ADM’s Winnipeg commercial manager Aaron Brown said in the company’s release.
“The enduring global trends of sustainability and food security are powering growth in alternative proteins, and ADM is continuing to invest to ensure we’re at the forefront of meeting those needs.”
Allan Wagner, the CEO for Prairie Pulse from its launch in 1995, described the deal as “an exciting opportunity for Prairie Pulse, our staff, and customers” and the buyer as “a global leader in agribusiness, transportation and processing, as well as the fast-growing alternative protein sector that our products serve.”
Wagner said the deal will see him join ADM, “whose guidance, strength and leadership will be a tremendous boost to our efforts to maintain, expand and grow our business.”
Brown said ADM also aims to “expand employment opportunities in Vanscoy and enhance our capability to supply the growing demand for pulse products.” –– Glacier FarmMedia Network
