A new $241 million wheat flour milling facility in Red Deer County near Innisfail will have the capacity to process about 750 metric tonnes of wheat into flour every day, providing important support for the province’s baking industry, say officials.
P&H Milling Group, a division of Parrish & Heimbecker Limited, is constructing the facility in the hamlet of Springbrook north of Innisfail. A press conference was held at the site Friday morning.
The new facility will complement the company’s wheat and durum milling operation in Lethbridge. Parrish & Heimbecker Limited is a Canadian grain company headquartered in Winnipeg.
The company has qualified for the provincial Agri-Processing Investment Tax Credit program by building the facility. The Alberta government has granted the P&H Milling Group conditional approval for a tax credit estimated to be $27.3 million.
The new facility is expected to create about 27 permanent and about 200 temporary jobs, say officials.
John Heimbecker is chief executive officer with Parrish & Heimbecker Limited.
“This new facility not only strengthens our position in the Canadian milling industry, but also boosts Alberta’s baking industry by supplying high-quality flour to a diverse range of customers,” Heimbecker was quoted as saying in the press release issued today – Friday, Sept. 6.
“We are proud to contribute to the local economy and support the agricultural community by sourcing 230,000 metric tonnes of locally grown wheat each year.”
The new facility will also have the capacity to add two more flour mills as demand for product increases going forward, he said.
Byproducts from the facility will be sold to the livestock feed industry across Canada to create products for cattle, poultry, swine, bison, goats and fish.
Jim Wood is Red Deer County’s mayor.
“We are grateful P&H Milling Group chose to build here in Red Deer County,” Wood said in the press release.
“This partnership will bolster our local economy and showcase our prime centralized location in Alberta, an advantage that facilitates efficient operations and distributions.”
RJ Sigurdson is Alberta’s minister of Agriculture and Irrigation.
“P&H Milling Group’s new flour mill project is proof our Agri-Processing Investment Credit program is doing its job to attract large-scale investments in value-added agriculture manufacturing,” Sigurdson said in the release.
“With incentives like the ag tax credit, we’re providing the right conditions for processors to invest in Alberta, expand their business and help stimulate the economy.”
Last year, Alberta farmers produced 9.3 million metric tonnes of wheat, which is about 30 per cent of total production in Canada.