Responding to growing demand for canola oil and canola meal products, Canadian agribusiness Richardson International Ltd. announced plans this week for a project to double the canola crush capacity of its processing plant in Yorkton, SK. The investment will double the site’s current capacity to 2.2 million mt.

“The global outlook for Canadian canola oil is promising, and this latest investment emphasizes our ongoing commitment to best-in-class facilities,” Darrel Sobkow, senior vice president, Processing, Food, and Ingredients for Richardson, said in a company release. “Yorkton lies in the heart of canola country and we are focused on providing customers with increasingly efficient means of meeting the needs of a growing global consumptive market.”

In addition to expanding the Yorkton plant’s capacity, Richardson also will add a high-speed shipping system with three 9,500-ft loop tracks and three high-speed receiving lanes.  

Work on the project has commenced and is expected to reach completion in early 2024.

“This state-of-the-art facility represents a good news story for all industry participants – for our producer customers and the end-use buyers across North America and abroad,” said Keith Belitski, director of operations at the Yorkton plant, in a statement.

The news of the Yorkton project comes after a Richardson subsidiary revealed plans earlier this month to erect a new, high-throughput grain elevator in High Level, AB. Once operational, the Richardson Pioneer Limited facility will have 32,000 mt of storage space and the capability to load 135 railcars.