By Ashley Wiebe - CHAT News

County already hearing interest in Spitz facility

Mar 6, 2018 | 4:35 PM

BOW ISLAND — The Reeve for the County of 40 Mile believes there may be a silver lining to the Spitz Sunflower Seed Factory closure, which is expected this summer.

PepsiCo, the parent company of Spitz, made the announcement in February that they would be shutting down their operation near Bow Island in July, putting 53 people out of work.

The county and town are working together and say half a dozen companies have already come forward, showing interest in the facility.

Steve Wikkerink is the Reeve for the county.

He told CHAT News that several agriculture companies have already come forward, asking to hear more about what the plant has and when it’ll be on the market.

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In a statement, PepsiCo said they’re ‘in the very early stages of preparing the site for sale.’

The statement went on to say that the company is expecting ‘the listing to be available in July. At that point we will begin discussions with any interested parties.’

Wikkeink said there have been talks with PepsiCo about the idea of finding a buyer together. He said the company seems open to the discussion.

Wikkerink added that it’s encouraging to see so much buzz about the facility and said it shows there’s a renewed interest in the agricultural sector and in southeast Alberta.

“Pretty well all the companies that are reaching out to use would move forward with some type of ag processing, taking something that is being grown locally and turning it into a consumer ready product,” he said. “Just like Spitz company was doing with sunflower seeds.”

Wikkerink said most of the companies that have reached out already are aware of the staffing situation and how hard it’ll hit the county and Bow Island, having 53 employees suddenly without work.

He said the interested parties are all committing to working with the current staff as much as they can, knowing there’s a wide variety of experience at the plant.

While it’s not a guarantee, although some have said they’d hire as many as current staff as they can.

Wikkerink said that’s at the forefront of the discussions he’s been having with the mayor of Bow Island, the economic development alliance and the investment attraction office within the province.

“We want the best for the people that are working out there and the majority of these people live throughout the county, Bow Island, Foremost and Burdett,” he said. “It’s a benefit spin-off to everybody if we can get somebody back in that plant and get it used again.”

Wikkerink wasn’t able to give any specifics about who has shown interest in the facility and surrounding land, only noting they’re in agricultural processing.