October 16, 2012

Vancouver's Richardson International is seeking a US$120-million expansion of its grain and oil seed storage facilities at Port Metro Vancouver.

The company has applied to the port authority for a permit to expand its storage to meet growing demand for grain from the Asia-Pacific region.

Richardson International's Vancouver terminal is operating at maximum capacity and is handling three million tonnes of grain and oil seed a year.

Darwin Sobkow, vice-president of the company's agribusiness operations said Richardson wants to ship more than five million tonnes annually. If approved the new storage facilities would take two years to complete.

"Vancouver is our major terminal and this would be our largest single investment we have made in Vancouver," said company official Tracey Shelton. She said construction would create up to 150 jobs.

"Upon completion our workforce of 100 persons would increase by 40 or 50 new permanent jobs," she said.

The increased demand for grain was mostly coming from China and India, Shelton added. The company plans to build an additional concrete grain storage annex with a capacity to hold 80,000 tonnes.

The project calls for the installation of distribution equipment and an upgraded dust filtration system. By eliminating existing steel storage bins, Richardson would net an addition 70,000 tonnes of storage bringing its total capacity at Vancouver to 178,000 tonnes.

The company recently invested US$20 million to improve its rail facilities so it can double the number of railcars it unloads each day from 150-300. There are five major exporters of grain operating in Port Metro Vancouver which ships out 15.5 million tonnes of grain and oil seed annually.