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Prairie Malt “aligns” production with current demand in Biggar Prairie Malt Limited announced last Thursday that it is aligning production at its facility in Biggar with current market demand. Prairie Malt Limited leaders met with employees Thursday morning to inform them that the facility will run at a reduced rate. The company will lay off approximately 35 employees by the end of 2011. “A supply agreement between Prairie Malt Limited and a major customer will end on December 31, 2011. Unfortunately, this circumstance has necessitated a very difficult business decision for us right now,” said Doug Eden, president of Prairie Malt Limited. “To ensure the competitiveness of Prairie Malt Limited, we are aligning production at the plant with current demand. We are very sorry to lay off employees and are grateful for the high quality work they have performed at the facility. We appreciate their contributions greatly and will work closely with them on severance and transition plans.” Despite the current situation at Prairie Malt Limited,
Eden said the company is as committed as ever to its valued customers and suppliers -- and will continue to seek opportunities to create solutions and value through its supply chains and expertise. According to Jerome Woynarski, manager of the Prairie Malt Limited facility, the company’s commitment to the residents and growers of the Town of Biggar and its surrounding communities in Saskatchewan remains strong. “We are committed to ensuring a high quality malt supply to domestic and international customers, making our existing supply chain more efficient, and implementing industry best practices,” he said. “While we manage some operational changes in the coming months, we are appropriately staffed to meet the needs of our customers. We will continue to serve our growers and customers, and we expect no disruptions to our business.” Prairie Malt Limited is a joint venture of Cargill and Viterra Inc.
At the beach, having a (volley)ball . . . Jeremy Yurchak and Cheyanne Lehnert go up for the block, August 20 during the first of what will prove to be many more, Youth Beach Volleyball Tournament. Using the new beach volleyball court at the Rec Complex, the event was
Management change at Prairie West Terminal Ltd. The Board of Directors of Prairie West Terminal Ltd. (PWT) announced August 17 that Andrew Travers has terminated his contract as Chief Executive Officer of
Prairie West Terminal Ltd to peruse a personal business opportunity outside the agriculture industry. The Board of Directors accepted the termination of
contract and immediately formed a committee of the Board to conduct the search for a new CEO. That committee has also engaged a human resources consul-
tant to assist in the search for the new CEO. Travers will continue as CEO of PWT until no later October 31, 2011. In the event a replacement CEO is not appointed prior to Travers’ departure from PWT, Charlene Bradley will act as interim CEO. Bradley has acted as CFO of PWT for the past eight years. Prairie West Terminal is locally owned and operated grain company, with its head office located between the villages of Dodsland and Plenty, Saskatchewan. Prairie West Terminal operates locations in Plenty, Dodsland, Luseland and Kindersley.
a success with support from local businesses. Already, the talk is next year, and the grudge matches are building. See Page 6 for the winners. (Independent Photo by Kevin Brautigam)
Landis and Central Plains Co-ops to amalgamate Membership of the Landis Co-op has voted strongly in favour of joining forces with Central Plains Co-op. The amalgamation will take place October 31, 2011. Membership in attendance at a special meeting this past August 17 in Landis, voted 83.5 per cent in favour of the unison. Membership of the Central Plains Co-op had voted in favour of the partnership at a Rosetown meeting this past April 20. Central Plains Co-op is formerly the Rosetown and Eston Co-ops, which merged in October of 2010. The merger is expected to raise revenue by 15 per cent. The amalgamation would enable savings through bulk purchasing and, is estimated to result in a savings of $200,000, according to Central Plains officials. Mike Moon, Central Plains General Manager, said the union will not result in any job losses. The amalgamated co-op will have a membership in excess of 5,500 members and locations in Eston, Landis and Rosetown. Discussions between the groups began in November 2010, when Landis approached Central Plains with the idea.
Gaming grants invest in Saskatchewan communities Biggar slated for $14,169.
Greetings from Biggar (Scotland, that is!) . . . Penny McCallum, Barb Barteski and Kathy Sarvas look over the salutations from our Scottish namesakes. Town Fathers in Biggar, Scotland sent over a gracious and warm congratulations on Biggar, Saskatchewan’s 100th anniversary. Our Scottish friends sent their regards and a crystal memento to commemorate our milestone birthday. See Page 9 for more. (Independent Photo by Kevin Brautigam)
The Government of Saskatchewan is providing more than 900 grants to volunteer organizations in communities across the province, and Biggar and area will benefit. The Saskatchewan Li-
quor and Gaming Authority (SLGA) is distributing a total of approximately $1.9 million through charitable gaming grants, with $14,169 going to Biggar. Among the grants provided by SLGA, Humboldt
and area received $39,185; Yorkton and area: $38,103; Estevan and area: $24,196; Nipawin and area: $22,917; Swift Current and area: $22,752, and, of course the aforementioned Biggar and area: $14,169.