Paterson Grain officially opens Flagstaff Terminal

Maurice Dureault, Regional Manager for Paterson Grain welcomed 400 invited guests to the grand opening of the new Flagstaff Facility near Daysland on Wednesday, with a great turnout despite the rainy day.

Dureault invited those who wished to brave the weather to come into the facility to watch the official ribbon cutting, by Flagstaff County Reeve Gerald Kuefler, Daysland Mayor Gail Watt, and Paterson Grain President and CEO Andrew Paterson. The first bag of grain, delivered by horse and wagon, was followed by the first official truckload, delivered by Brent Schneider.

Afterwards a short ceremony featured Paterson, Watt, and Kuefler celebrating the official opening day of the facility.

Paterson, who is the great grandson of the company founder, Senator Norman Paterson, talked briefly on the company’s 109-year history, starting with a single elevator and growing into the global company it is today.

“Our company continues to grow, and we’re here to give you more,” Paterson told the crowd of local farmers.
“Our company history includes sodbusters, two world wars, dust bowls, and bumper crops. We manage our business like a well-run family farm. Our customers are our reason for being in business; without you there would be no business.”

He said of the Flagstaff Facility, “We wish it could have been completed earlier, but it’s full of tech. We can accommodate 140 grain cars on the loop track.

“Here we can serve producers in the region for the next century. This facility stands as a monument to farmers past and present who have not gone unnoticed.

“We at Paterson Grain don’t take your support for granted. We’ve earned farmer’s support by under promising and over delivering.”

The facility, Paterson explained, is built on cutting edge technology, and is one of three facilities like this in Canada. “Everything we do is to save you time and money. We don’t want you to wait, and if you do, tell me about it.”