BOWDEN - Paterson Grain's new Foothills grain terminal was officially opened Wednesday, Aug. 29.
The facility, pegged to cost up to $40 million, is located near Bowden on Rge. Rd. 12, just north of Highway 587.
About 300 people -- mostly grain farmers from the area, along with staff -- attended the ceremonies.
Activities included tours of the facility, a ribbon-cutting, and a big super B that rolled into the terminal to unload grain and demonstrate how the operation works.
Construction of the facility is still underway, according to Foothills Grain Terminal marketing/logistics manager Shelly Rye.
"The track is near completion and then work on other less critical areas will be continued on for the ground pile and car loading system," she said.
"We are set up to now start receiving grain though so any construction is not going to prevent us from taking grain this harvest."
The new terminal can store 2,225,000 bushels of grain, ship 75,000 bushels per hour and clean 8,800
bushels per hour a company news release said.
"In order to avoid congestion, we have two receiving driveways which we believe can unload 32 super Bs per hour -- as long as you don't push the emergency stop button," Paterson Foods chief executive officer Andrew Paterson said during a speech, sparking laughter from the crowd.
The facility has a 150-car rail spot, loop design; "the largest that I know on the CP network," Paterson said.
He said the loop design enables cars and engines to remain attached, "thereby saving time and ensuring grain can be loaded as efficiently as possible, in around eight hours."
The terminal also features an integrated dust suppression system "ensuring clean operations from receiving to shipping," the release said.
Paterson said the facility is designed to grow to meet demand "with no lineups."
The Paterson Foothills Grain Terminal currently employs 10 people, almost all of whom are from Olds, Bowden or Didsbury. When fully staffed, it is expected to employ 18 to 20 people.
Shane Paterson, the company's director of trading and transportation, said they made the decision to build the terminal in the area because "it's close to markets. We're a grain handling company, so we're interested in volume of grain and this area has got amazing production and I think great potential to grow."
He said another big factor was the proximity to the CP rail line, as well as highways 2 and 587.
"I mean, (it's) no secret grain elevators are located where railway infrastructure meets primary highway infrastructure, meets agricultural production," Shane said.
The company was originally founded in 1908 by Andrew Paterson's great-grandfather, Senator Norman M. Paterson.
"Facilities such as this one stand as a monument to farmers past and present, whose efforts have not gone unnoticed," said Andrew, who also paid tribute to Bowden and area.
"Over the years, I have visited this area numerous times with my son and other executives of the company and we've really come to appreciate the community and today, we start a long-term partnership with you in this community," he said.
Although the terminal is located just outside Bowden, no officials representing the town spoke during the gathering.
A town official said unfortunately, they were attending a strategic planning session that had been planned before learning of the official opening.
