Barrhead’s Champion Feed Services will close on May 13.
On Monday, April 18, Daren Kennett, founder and senior vice-president of sales of Hi-Pro Feeds, visited the Barrhead location, as well as the Barrhead town and county municipal offices, to deliver the bad news that the facility is closing.
The decision affects 36 workers and although Champion Feed is closing, its retail outlet, The Back Forty, will remain open until the company can find a buyer.
Champion Feed Services has been operating in northern Alberta for over 40 years and in addition to selling livestock feeds, supplements, premixes and feed medications, they also sell pet foods, barn accessories, pharmaceuticals, livestock equipment, grass seed, inoculants and a range of other products.
Kennett said in a letter to their customers, the decision was made after the company conducted a comprehensive review for the business in central and northern Alberta.
“As a result, the Barrhead facility will be consolidated into the Olds, Ponoka, Sherwood Park, and Westlock mills,” he said, adding the process of shutting down the Barrhead operation would begin immediately. May 13 is the last day for customers to pick up feed or other items from the mill.
In November 2015, Hi-Pro Feeds, a manufacturer and distributor of high performance animal feed in North America with 14 individual feed mills in three U.S. states and three provinces, purchased Champion Feed, which included the feed mills in Barrhead, Westlock and Champion Oat Processors in Grande Prairie. Other Alberta facilities include Lethbridge, Olds, Ponoka and Sherwood Park. The company is headquartered in Okotoks.
At the time, Hi-Pro Feeds said the Champion’s purchase would assist Hi-Pro to provide a greater mix of products and services to their customers and that there were no plans to change the operations at either the Barrhead or Westlock feed mills and stores.
Holly Nicoll, director of marketing for Hi-Pro Feeds, said before the company conducted the review they wanted to take some time getting to understand the business.
“That’s why we took a couple of months to learn the business in all of Champions’ locations,” she said, adding the main reason Hi-Pro decided to close its Barrhead location was to remain cost competitive.
“Consolidating the Barrhead facility allows us an opportunity to specialize our other facilities. We can manufacture certain feeds for certain animals out of different facilities and that in turn will help us become more cost competitive in the market,” Nicholl explained, adding the move is part of a growing trend. “As livestock producers continue to consolidate and get larger and we need to be able to service them, and this move will allow us to do that.”
As for what will happen to the mill’s 36 employees, she said Hi-Pro has taken efforts to reduce the impact on them as more than half have been offered positions at the company’s Westlock or Sherwood Park locations. The bulk of the positions are in Westlock.
“The others who haven’t been given a chance to relocate have been offered the opportunity to apply for jobs at other Hi-Pro locations. We have seven mills across Alberta and 10 in Western Canada,” she said. “We have also given the employees packages and will be helping them with their next steps in whatever they decide to do for their career.”
In addition, Nicholl said the company has also made efforts to minimize the effect on local customers.
“All the same feeds and nutrition will be available through our Westlock location and the sales people (about four) who are on the farm dealing with our customers in Barrhead currently will be the same,” she said, adding that all the equipment and supplies that are available in Barrhead are also available at the Westlock location.
She also noted grain shipments from farmers will be accepted at the Westlock mill.
When asked what will happen with the actual Champion Feed building and land, Nicholl said a decision hasn’t been made, but it would take some time for the company to properly decommission the building.
Kennett, in his letter to customers, said it was a difficult decision to make, but noted it wasn’t because of their employees.
“The Barrhead team has done an excellent job running the plant, and this decision is not a reflection on their hard work and diligent efforts over the years. We appreciated their many contributions and will work with each of them as they transition out of their current role,” he said.
