A new commodity hub is in the plans for the southeast. Comtrax Logistics Solutions are planning a hub that will load crops, crude oil, aggregate and other commodities in a hub along the Soo Line railway.
The commodity hub will have an initial proposed capacity of 260 rail car track system with room for expansion, with a loop track to facilitate grain handling. Crude oil, aggregate, fertilizer and other commodities will also be processed with planned trans-loading capability. The commodity handling facility will have a proposed capacity of 60,000 tonnes for grains, oilseed and pulse crops.
鈥淲e formed as a group about 18 months ago, after realizing that there was an opportunity in the market to take advantage of some producer initiative and ownership,鈥� said Danny Cugnet, representative of Comtrax Logistics Solutions. 鈥淎s well, we wanted to look at some programs that we were not getting as producers and to also look at some innovative programs that we could introduce.鈥�
鈥淎nother idea was that rather than the producers own all the condos space and storage, is to have multiple commercial entities in one single facility. So we could be charge for the operating and provide fee-for-service.鈥�
鈥淎lso, we felt that commercial entities would not necessarily want the operational issues of the facility, as instead their focus is on the the origination and the commodities. So by having commercial condos, we could have multiple entities in the same commodity hub facility with their investment,鈥� said Cugnet.
鈥淔rom the diversification standpoint, since we are building this track structure we want to utilize that as much as possible. We have crude in this country that will need to be moved by rail cars, and there is also opportunity to move fertilizer and aggregate.鈥�
鈥淲hen I think of a local company like Souris Valley Industries, who did all the precast cement work for the new Mosaic Stadium, if we could create a point for them to get their product on rail, who is to say that they couldn鈥檛 bid on projects in the States? We don鈥檛 want to be limited in just grain and oil 鈥� we have lots of commodities to import and to export,鈥� said Cugnet.
A series of town-hall meetings are set by Comtrax Logistics Solutions, with the first to be held in Regina on Thursday, Dec. 8. The Weyburn meeting will be held in the lower auditorium of McKenna Hall at 9 a.m. on Friday, Dec. 9. During the meetings, the proposal will be detailed to southeast producers and get support for the initiative. Farmer investment is crucial to the proposed project.
鈥淲e want to see what the appetite and interest is for a facility that we are looking at, with the concept we are looking at which is different than anything that has been done before,鈥� said Cugnet. 鈥淲e are looking for feedback on this concept. We are treating these meetings as our feasibility studies, so we can get a sense of how many producers are engaged and how many acres the commercials have the potential to procure grain from.鈥�
鈥淔rom the producer standpoint, the goal is to create value for us as producers,鈥� said Cugnet. 鈥淲e want to have a voice in the industry that we don鈥檛 currently have.鈥�
鈥淯ltimately, we are looking this commodity hub as a stand-alone business. We want to generate a return for any shareholders who invest into the venture. We are looking to create a business, create jobs in the community, and create an investment opportunity.鈥�
There are definitely lots of opportunity in southeast Saskatchewan for a new commodity hub. 鈥淲ithin 100 kilometres of Weyburn, there are roughly 2.5 million tonnes of product being grown, and our efficiencies and ability to grow product continue to increase. We don鈥檛 see that changing,鈥� said Cugnet.
The mission statement for the Comtrax Logisitcs Solutions is to provide large-scale origination and a loyal relationship with hundreds of producers in an efficient, premier facility for a fraction of the investment for commercial entities.
鈥淲orking with the people who are involved in this project is a tremendous pleasure,鈥� said Cugnet. 鈥淲e have identified many professional people who can take this into the next level, since they can all see the grander vision of this project.鈥�
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