Blog – GEAPS – Canadian Prairies Chapter

Blog # 3 – Parrish & Heimbecker – Global Reach With Local Roots

Blog # 3 - Parrish & Heimbecker - Global Reach With Local Roots

The numbers are impressive and the global reach is extensive, but the heartbeat of Parrish & Heimbecker hasn’t changed in 110 years. We are still a family-owned business that proudly positions Canada as a global leader in agri-food.

Parrish & Heimbecker is headquartered in Winnipeg. We are a growth-oriented, technologically advanced, global leader in grain merchandising, crop inputs, flour milling and feed mills.

P&H’s National Grain Asset and Crop Input Network extends from coast to coast in Canada. Our facilities are strategically located to match producer grain with the quality, quantity and logistical requirements of domestic and export end users. We have 1,500 employees across Canada, 45 grain and crop input sites, 6 export terminals, and customers in 24 countries.

Our size allows us to compete in global markets, and yet we are still a family business. Started in 1909 by W.L. Parrish in Brandon, M.B., and Norman Heimbecker in Hanover, O.N., members of the two families still own and manage the company.

As the third largest grain company in Canada, P&H offers growers superior market insights, competitive local cash bids and local expertise. We are the largest Canadian-owned milling company, with eight mills across Canada. New-Life Mills, a division of P&H, manufactures livestock nutrition with five production facilities.

P&H has more than 70 locations across Canada. We are a critical link between Canadian producers and the world. Our equipment and expertise helps producers grow healthy crops, keeps livestock thriving, moves mountains of grain around the world, mills wheat into flour and ultimately keeps families around the world fed every day.

At the heart of the company is a commitment to see customers and communities thrive. You’ll find our facilities and expertise at critical points along the agriculture and food value chain. No matter in which location you see the P&H crest hanging on the wall, we are proud to be a critical linchpin in the chain of people helping feed the world.

A global enterprise run by people with deep roots in the areas they serve. That’s a powerful combination.

Local roots. Global reach. P&H is a family-owned company making Canada proud.

Thank you to Monika Robertson - Corporate Marketing Coordinator at Parrish & Heimbecker, Limited

Blog # 2 – How G3’s “Smarter Path” Is Becoming Reality

Blog # 2 - How G3's "Smarter Path" Is Becoming Reality

G3 was created in 2015 as a new Canadian grain handling company with an ambitious vision statement: ‘Building a smarter path from farmers’ fields to global markets.’ This would be achieved by creating a network of high-efficiency grain handling facilities across Western Canada, anchored by G3 Terminal Vancouver: the first new grain export terminal built at the Port of Vancouver since the 1960s.

The network is based on the “power-on, loop-to-loop” model. Prairie grain elevators load trains on a loop track that allows for near-continuous motion and eliminates the need to disconnect power and shunt the cars back and forth on traditional ladder-style tracks. CN and CP grain trains, which at 150-cars are bigger than ever, are loaded faster than ever: in hours instead of days.

At G3 Terminal Vancouver, a larger version of the loop track can accommodate three 150-car unit trains at the same time. They unload grain in continuous motion as they move around the tracks, and in less than 24 hours all three can be on their way back to the Prairies for another load.

G3 Terminal Vancouver opened in 2020 and began setting new port records for rapidly unloading trains and loading ships for export. By the end of 2021 G3 had built more than a dozen high-efficiency loop-track grain elevators across the Prairies (two more are under construction). The remarkably rapid back-and-forth of grain trains between Prairie elevators and G3 Terminal Vancouver – cutting the rail cycle time by 40 to 50 per cent – is now the norm across the network. The ‘smarter path’ has moved from vision to reality.

G3 is also a significant part of the grain supply chain in Eastern Canada. The company operates port terminals in Thunder Bay, ON; Hamilton, ON (which opened in 2017); Trois Rivières, QC and Quebec City which ship grain from the Prairies, southern Ontario and Quebec along the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Seaway system and on to overseas markets.

G3 currently has a staff of more than 600 at locations across Canada. The company’s head office is in Winnipeg.

Thank you to Peter Chura from G3 for providing this exciting post.

Blog #1 – A Brief History Of The Canadian Prairies Chapter of GEAPS

Blog # 1 - A Brief History Of The Canadian Prairies Chapter of GEAPS

Photo Courtesy of Glenn Dickson

A Brief History of the Canadian Prairies Chapter of GEAPS

Did you know?

The Canadian Prairies Chapter was formed in 1988.

The process was started by Bill Teerhuis from the provincial government’s Department of Industry, Trade and Commerce.

Bill hosted a meeting at a downtown hotel and invited over 170 people from the Winnipeg grain industry to attend.

At that meeting it was unanimously agreed to form a local GEAPS chapter encompassing the three Prairie Provinces.

GEAPS head office staff were in attendance at that meeting and guided the selection of a chapter board of directors.

The board of directors elected Ole Torlen from United Grain Growers as its first chapter president.

Shortly afterwards bylaws were adopted with the help of Gerry Perron from Superior Scales and the chapter was up and running.

Thanks to Brent Murray of LV Controls the chapter soon hosted its first Mini Expo which still continues today.