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| Gravelbourg Plant Looks to Expand
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The concept of Mustard Capital Inc. began about 5 years ago when a group of local residents and four neighboring Rural Municipalities discussed the option of adding more value to Agriculture goods in the region. After studying the possibility of processing Canola, Sunflower, Mustard or Flax, the decision was made to go with Mustard. And now as they say the rest is history.MCI has now milled tones of Mustard all either locally grown or from across Southern Saskatchewan with
its product exported to 13 countries . Milling the three varieties of Mustard seed, Brown, Yellow and Oriental, the MCI Plant behind these doors is home to 10 full time and 4 full time employees. At the time of producing this story, our Southwest TV News cameras were not allowed inside for safety reasons, as the plant was undergoing plant construction upgrades. Now milling 10 -12 Tonnes of Mustard per
day, with two round the clock shifts operating, MCI officials are pleased with the company’s growth over the past two years which started out as a mere idea and has now turned into a company dealing in International markets.
( Tom Halpenny- CEO, Mustard Capital Inc.)
“Well the original capital was in the range of $1 million when we started and the concept was grow as we go. And so from that perspective we’re looking to expand, to construct a new facility in the not too distant future, so obviously then we’ll be looking at a much more sizable capital which will be required. It’s been a very successful strategy for us to get our product introduced into the marketplace without having a lot of money at risk; so it’s worked out quite well and we’re pleased with the approach we took.”
Halpenny goes on to add that the success of the company has come to
fruition due to a number of factors ranging from the local community to
the Mustard producer.
( Tom Halpenny- CEO, Mustard Capital Inc.)
“I have a lot of pride associated with the company and all that we’ve accomplished in the short time and I think a lot of community members do too. And there were skeptics, you know this type of initiative has been tried before and has not necessarily succeeded. So there was some natural skepticism, but the proof is in the pudding as they say. We’re here and we made it through a couple of years now and I think there’s a lot of support beyond the communities involved in the project. I think a lot of pride that we hear from farmers that are selling us their mustard. They’re quite pleased to have somebody adding value to the mustard products right here in Saskatchewan.”
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One of those producers who appreciates the efforts of Mustard Capital
Inc., is Gaetan Piche. Piche harvests approximately 1200 acres of
Mustard per year and sells one hundred percent of it to MCI. His
belief in the local initiative has not only led him to sell his Mustard seed
to MCI but to sit on the Board of Directors as President.
(Gaetan Piche- President, Mustard Capital Inc.)
“One thing that is sort of the intangible benefit of having that company right here is to being able to sell your product directly or being able to see the face of people buying your mustard. A lot of times we ship product out of the farmyard and we never see who’s buying the product. And there’s a certain security when you’re selling that mustard, when you’re able to talk to the people directly face to face that are actually buying it; should there be any problems or even negotiating the price to helping those personal relationships are very valuable.”
Now with an impressive footprint on the Global market, MCI is planning to head into the next growth phase of the company, which includes discussions with the town of Gravelbourg to purchase this 7acre piece of land just North of the town’s rail-line. Once the next round of Investment is in place this will be the future site of MCI’s stand alone Milling Facility complete with a warehouse and storage area as the company is quickly outgrowing its current site, which they’re currently renting from the adjacent College Matthieu.
MCI is a true Saskatchewan success story, proving that an idea which started around coffee shop table could blossom into a globally known company and is headquartered in the heart of Rural Saskatchewan and way from the bright lights of the big city. MCI not only exports its Milled Mustard product worldwide, but has sold its Mustard oil by product to local RM’s; who in turn use the oil as an environmentally friendly alternative to keep the dust down on rural roads in the summer. MCI’s CEO stresses they’ve covered the bases from labour to transportation, giving them the green light to keep pushing forward out of their Gravelbourg based operation.
(Tom Halpenny-CEO, Mustard Capital Inc.)
“You know the key factors are you need to have available labor and you need to meet the transportation issue. We haven’t had any difficulties in regards to transportation and so far all North American destinations are all truck traffic and it’s very competitive and available. And on the labor front, we’ve got dedicated folks here who belong in the community, want to be in the community and they’re quite pleased to have gainful employment here and there’s enough available that we can manage our growth with the labor pool that’s available. In terms of selling around the globe, it doesn’t matter if you’re in Saskatoon, Regina, Moose Jaw or Gravelbourg, the approach to selling globally is the same.”
And despite the turbulent economic times on a world-wide scale, MCI officials remain optimistic with the future growth of their Gravelbourg
based company.
(Tom Halpenny-CEO, Mustard Capital Inc.)
“People still eat food and our product for the most part goes into the food industry. Commerce isn’t going to end because there’s bad economic conditions, it may slow down but it won’t end. So from that perspective, we just have to proceed cautiously, ensure that the customers we sell to are financially strong and our accounts get serviced and those are the things we need to guard right now.”
If all goes according to plan, MCI hopes to enter its second and third phase of expansion at this site just North of Gravelbourg within the nexttwo years. Mustard Capital Inc. is the first and only Mustard Processing Plant in Saskatchewan.
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