A special crop, pulse and canola processor has signed a major delivery contract, thanks to its trucking capabilities.
Pacific Coast Canola (PCC), a Seattle, Washington-based subsidiary of Legumex Walker Inc. (which is headquartered in Winnipeg, Manitoba), has entered into a six-month contract to truck a portion of its super degummed canola oil to Imperium Renewables, a biofuel producer also based in Seattle.
According to Legumex and PCC executives, the company's ability to move the canola oil by truck is the main reason the deal happened.
"The Imperium business, because it is delivered by truck, helps relieve the outbound logistical challenges we are facing due to the North America-wide rail congestion problem," explained Legumex Walker president and CEO Joel Horn.
"We continue to experience tremendous demand for PCC's high-quality products. However, North American rail congestion is now affecting our inbound delivery of seed from the Canadian prairies and North Dakota. While there is a large amount of seed available, the rail congestion is making us work harder to get the quantities we need to bring PCC to full capacity.
"This short-term challenge underscores the power of our local seed sourcing and product delivery strategy, as the rail congestion also impacts local customers' ability to bring in canola oil and meal from long distances in a timely and predictable manner. As the local canola seed acreage in the Pacific Northwest continues to grow PCC will be able to process and deliver oil and meal to these customers on a much more reliable and economical basis. This is great news for us, our customers, and for our local farmers growing canola seed."
PCC chief operations officer Matt Upmeyer said Imperium will benefit from PCC's "close proximity and load-out capabilities which allows us to ship multiple types of oil to our customers' specifications."
Sunflower seed, flax and canary seed are all special crops. Lentils, peas, beans and chickpeas are categorized as pulses.
