Lethbridge is home to a large number of successful, growing businesses. Richardson Oilseed is one of them.
The plant many people still refer to as Canbra Foods is one of the largest employers in the city. It uses canola to make margarine, vegetable oils and other healthy food products.
“From bringing seed in from farmers to production of bottled, finished goods,” said Richardson Oilseed vice-president Pat Van Osch.
The plant was one of the first in Canada to process and sell canola oil. Some is sold under its own labels, including Canola Harvest margarine and oils. It also makes products for stores and other parts of the food service industry that use their own labels. Richardson Oilseed buys a lot of canola from farmers.
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“We’re up to 425 thousand tonnes of seed going through this facility every year,” said Van Osch. “The cost of canola seed ranges from 425 to 600 dollars a tonne so a significant dollar value goes through the plant.”
Richardson Oilseed has a newer plant in Yorkton, Saskatchewan. That plant is expanding to be able to process three thousand tonnes of canola seed a day. The Lethbridge plant which can process 1,250 tonnes a day is also growing.
“We’re going to expand the facility. More than double where we’re at today,” Van Osch said. “It will put it on the size of the other, newer plants.”
Richardson Oilseed’s Lethbridge facility sells much of what it produces in the west, including California and the Pacific Northwest United States. It also ships product to Vancouver where it’s exported to other parts of the world. Van Osch said Asian countries and the United States are large growth markets for Richardson Oilseed.
“We’re optimistic about Canadian agriculture,” he said. “If you look at our business beyond beyond the oilseed processing and plant we have here we see significant growth in our overall grain handling facilities and buying some assets from Viterra that will put us equal with Glencore as being the largest handlers of commodities in western Canada..”
Richardson Oilseed employs 275 people in Lethbridge. The plant has grown in step with the city over the past 57 years. Van Osch said it looks forward to continuing to grow in the future.
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