With just a few regulatory hurdles to go, AGT Foods and Ingredients will soon revert back to a private company. Led by Murad Al-Katib, founder, president and CEO, the Saskatchewan-based pulse and grain processor has big plans in the years ahead, including a “scale up and grow” plan that includes heavy investments into infrastructure and transport at Manitoba’s Port of Churchill.
In 15 years, AGT has grown significantly, thanks in no small part, Al-Katib says to the commitment and support of farmers, key partners and investors. This bid to take the company private, Al-Katib says, will have a positive impact for farmers as the investment in Churchill should provide surge shipping capacity at that critical August to November time frame, when widening basis is typically linked to congestion at the Port of Vancouver.
Al-Katib says that those 500,000 to 700,000 tonnes of peas, lentils, durum, CWRS and more that can move through another port helps keep other ports from overcapacity. The company is spending $50 million on rail infrastructure improvements, with plans to “update” the 120,000 tonnes of storage capacity at the port.
The company is also well-placed to take advantage of the increased focus on plant protein, through the federally-funded Protein Supercluster and Canada’s Food Guide.
Hear more from Murad Al-Katib and Shaun Haney, including why Al-Katib calls this “Canada’s century,” in this interview from Canada’s Ag Day, at Ottawa, Ont.
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