G3 announces two new elevators, including first in Alberta

G3 Canada has confirmed plans to build two new elevators, including the company’s first grain terminal in Alberta.

Construction is expected to begin next month on 42,000 tonne facilities south of Wetaskiwin in central Alberta, and near Maidstone, Saskatchewan.

“We’re excited to be able to show farmers in the Wetaskiwin and Maidstone areas what G3 has to offer their business,” says G3 CEO Karl Gerrand, in a statement issued Tuesday.

The company says both facilities will be equipped for fast truck turnaround and efficient rail loading, with loop track systems. The Maidstone elevator will be serviced by CN Rail, while the Wetaskiwin site is on a CP Rail line. “Both are well placed to supply G3 Terminal Vancouver when the next-generation grain export terminal becomes operational in 2020,” says the company.

Both elevators are scheduled to be completed prior to the 2019 harvest. G3 also has construction underway on new grain terminals near Saskatoon and Melville, both of which are expected to be operational this summer.

G3 was formed through the privatization of the Canadian Wheat Board in 2015, and is majority-owned by a joint venture between SALIC and Bunge. The remaining 49.9 percent of the equity in G3 is being allocated to farmers who deliver grain to the company through a Farmer Equity Plan, which was set up to maintain some level of farmer ownership after the federal government dismantled the CWB’s single desk selling authority.

Related:

• G3 Plans Two New Elevators in Saskatchewan
• How an Elevator’s Made: An Up-Close Look at the Construction of a Modern Grain Terminal