REGINA — Cargill's canola crush facility in Regina is expected to be operational this spring.
The project started in 2022 and was originally set to open last fall but was delayed due to construction challenges and economic factors.
Christopher Kuntz, a grain marketing advisor for Cargill's Davidson and Clavet locations, says it's a good feeling to finally have the facility come online.
"I know we've been talking about this piece of infrastructure being built for well since like 2018, 2019. So having an end in sight and getting that up and running for our customers this spring is a happy event for everybody involved." he said.
The plant is located on the west end of Regina, in the Global Transportation Hub for better access, Kuntz said.
"It gives us an opportunity to really pull in canola from a number of different areas without having to actually go through the city of Regina, which could be a bind. Access to a couple of different rail lines as well is very important when you're setting up a crush plant. So that being out in the hub just fit all of those different pieces and it really will allow our customers to get in and out of that location with the least amount of pain."
Once operational, the facility is expected to have an annual production capacity of 1 million metric tonnes, according to Cargill's website. Crude canola oil for food and biofuel markets and canola meal for animal feed will be produced at the plant, according to a news release from July 16, 2024.
President of Cargill Canada Jeff Vassart was quoted in the same release as saying the plant will expand domestic and global marketing opportunities for vegetable oil, high quality meal and biofuels.
Kuntz said there's been some talk about it at their booth at the Western Canadian Crop Production Show, as well as their acquisition of Bunge's elevator in Valparaiso, Saskatchewan.
"So there's a lot of optimism that some more market opportunities are going to start accessing different parts of Saskatchewan." said Kuntz.
