A national agriculture company is expanding its local footprint.
Maizex Seeds, a division of Sollio Agriculture, has announced an $8.8 million investment in a new seed corn processing and packaging plant at its Blenheim facility.
“This is a significant investment by Maizex that not only supports the ability of our seed business to meet the needs of farm customers into the future but also represents a commitment to Canadian- grown seed corn for Canadian farmers,” said Casper Kaastra, Chief Executive Officer, Sollio Agriculture in a news release.
The new facility replaces an existing seed corn processing plant that was purchased in 2019 following the formation of the joint venture between Maizex Seeds and Sollio Agriculture. The new plant will feature state of the art cleaning, sizing and packaging equipment.
Officials say the new facility will emulate the single storey flow-through design of the company’s Tilbury plant, but with more automation and capabilities.
“Maizex has always used a unique approach to seed corn processing to ensure product quality. This new facility will emulate the single storey flow-through design of our Tilbury facility but with additional automation and capabilities,” added Blake Ashton, General Manager, Maizex Seeds.
Company officials say the expansion will result in continued employment for the team at the Blenheim location, and creates additional processing capacity to support sales growth into the future.
Construction is expected to begin after the holidays with plans to have the plant operational by the end of 2026.
Maizex Seeds produces and sells corn and soybean seeds to farmers from coast to coast in Canada. The company also sells forage seeds and cereal varieties to farmers in eastern Canada and recently introduced several canola hybrids.
