The sale is expected to close Nov. 1
Bayer CropScience has purchased a canola treating and packaging plant in Coaldale, Alta.
The company announced its acquisition of HyTech Production Ltd.’s facility on Oct. 3.
This move is a show of confidence in the Canadian ag industry, said Antoine Bernet, president and CEO of Bayer.
“We see deep potential in Canadian agriculture, and canola is an important crop for Canadian farmers,” he told Farms.com. “We have a mission to grow our canola business here and we thought this is a great way to strengthen that business.”
HyTech facility in Coaldale, Alta. (HyTech photo).
The Coaldale facility adds to Bayer’s infrastructure, which includes a canola seed production site in Cranbrook, B.C., and a seed cleaning facility in Lethbridge, Alta.
HyTech built and operated it for three years before Bayer’s acquisition.
“It’s a relatively new commercial facility that was finished in October 2021 specifically to support Bayer’s canola business,” Bernet said. “Having this facility lets us have control and oversee the different steps of seed production.”
It’s unclear at this point the volume of product that will come out of the Coaldale plant, Bernet said.
The HyTech employees at the plant will be retained and work under Bayer.
HyTech will use the sale as an opportunity to continue its work.
“The decision to sell our treating and packaging operation allows us to focus on hybrid seed production, the core function of our business since founding in 1998. For our breeder/distributor customers and producer partners we will continue to lead innovation in hybrid canola seed production and pursue opportunities in other hybrid crop kinds”, co-CEO Cam Van Roon said in an Oct. 3 statement.