Superior Pulses in Verwood unveiled phase two of development at its first annual appreciation barbecue at the Verwood Community Hall on July 5. The pulse handling company, which started operations in the village last year, invited the Verwood community for a generous lunch of grilled beef and chicken burgers, three kinds of salads, chips, and desserts all sourced locally. The hall was filled to capacity with customers, friends and business partners of the popular company. Also attending the event were representatives from CP Rail, Corr Grain and other companies that are serving and working with Superior Pulses. The company also posted a blueprint of their construction plans to share their plans with the community and receive feedback.
Superior Pulses director Faisal Usmani detailed phase two of development. In August, they will be bringing into operation a cleaning facility that will have two lines. One for drying and cleaning and one for cleaning and splitting lentils. The facility will be ready to process this year鈥檚 harvest starting next month.聽
A tour of the site shows that work on the second phase is busily underway. Corr Grain Systems, headquartered in Regina, is installing eight new bins each with a 7,200-bushel capacity. 鈥淭his is one of the few plants in Canada that will be able to supply split lentils,鈥� said company president Noor Faridi. It鈥檚 a finished product that is value added to their profile. They project a capacity of 2,000 tonnes per month and they also continue to sell raw materials.
By the end of the year, Superior Pulses plans to complete a new building with automation for some of the work now done manually. 鈥淭he team will grow,鈥� Faridi assured the gathering. In fact, automation will mean expansion and more staff will need to be hired. Superior Pulses takes a team approach with their staff and they take a community approach with producers and villagers around Verwood. Superior Pulses wants to build a rapport with the community, stated Aftab Ghouri, director of Global Commodities Traders. The barbecue is a way of giving back to the community who have worked with Superior Pulses and supported them.聽
Faridi noted that they have engaged Saskatchewan companies to complete their expansion projects. 鈥淲e believe in working with successful growing businesses like Superior Pulses and we are pleased to see them growing in the marketplace,鈥� stated Ralph Wegman, CEO and president of Corr Grain Systems, which is a Saskatchewan-based company working in grain storage and technology with its headquarters in Regina. In addition to their team approach, Faridi gives credit to the companies that they work with for Superior Pulse鈥檚 success. He recognizes CP Railway as key to their success. CP supplies the grain cars and ships the pulses across Canada to ports in Vancouver and Montreal, explained Michael Arena, CP Rail account manager.聽
Superior Pulses wants to make the barbecue an annual event to stay in touch with the community. The company鈥檚 mission statement is to work as fairly and honestly as possible with their customers offering equitable market prices. Their popularity with producers after one year of operations testifies to the success of this business approach.聽
Superior Pulses began operations handling pulses in Verwood last year. Superior Pulses buys and collects lentils, field peas and chickpeas from farmers, then ships them to ports where their trading company, Global Commodities Traders, exports the product around the world. The company mainly exports to India, Pakistan, Turkey, Dubai and Sri Lanka. Canadian agricultural commodities see
huge demand around the world.
