A new animal-feed mill in Chilliwack is being touted as environmentally friendly, uses state-of-the-art technology, and is safer than its predecessor.
Trouw Nutrition, which makes feed for livestock, officially opened its largest mill in North America on Chilliwack Central Road on Wednesday (Sept. 11).
The company is calling the multi-million-dollar mill a "significant" milestone for Trouw and the industry, and is stating the facility will set new standards for the next generation with improved efficiency and sustainability.
“When I first started in feed milling, one of my mentors told me the only thing that stays the same in the feed business is if you don't change or adapt, you won't stay in the feed business. And I think that's more true today than ever,” said Walker Eliason, manufacturing and supply chain director for North America.
The mill has replaced the original mill which opened in 1958. The new one took three years to construct and has been operating since June. They manufacture livestock feed and ship it to farms, retailers and other mills across the province.
There's increased flexibility to handle different types of raw materials and move them to different bins, they can take products that come in from overseas in higher quantities, and they can formulate and manufacture higher-fat and higher-protein feed.
Eliason said there was a “significant” amount of planning around sustainability.
The mill was built to handle 50 per cent more capacity than the old mill, and decrease its CO2 footprint by 20 per cent “mainly because of the energy consumption and the boilers that we’ve selected for this factory,” he said. Additionally, the storage capacity for raw materials has increased by more than 30 per cent.
“This is a much safer place to work for our employees: better equipment access, better lockout controls, cleaner, brighter, more automated,” he added.
Managing director Christine Gillespie said Trouw is feeding animals in a way that’s “innovative and sustainable for generations to come.”
A few years ago, the production from the original 1958 mill was not going to be able to keep up with the growth, specifically for the poultry industry in the Fraser Valley, she said.
“At the time the original mill was built, versus today, we can feed twice the amount of animals with the same amount of feed,” Gillespie said. “If you think about sustainability and how efficient the industry has become, it's incredible.”
When the new mill opened few months ago, the first load of bulk feed that was produced went to Parkside Poultry, the same Chilliwack customer that received the very first batch from the original mill back in 1958, said communications specialist Anne-Marie Saint-Germain.
The new mill was built on the same site as the former one on Chilliwack Central Road. Some silos from the old mill were repurposed in the new factory.
The old mill will be demolished in the future.
