Balanced growth key to future for Nutrien
In the last year, Saskatchewan’s potash industry has experienced a dramatic sea-change. Helping to lead that transition is Susan Jones.
Jones is the newly appointed Executive Vice-president, and President of Potash, for Nutrien, the massive crop input company created from the merger of PotashCorp and Calgary-based Agrium. The mega-merger became official earlier this year, and created a company with 1,500 farm retail centres, nearly 20,000 employees and six potash mines in Saskatchewan.
The shakeout of redundant head office positions, and questions about the location of the head office, had contributed to unease in the province.
Since her arrival in May, Jones has gotten a strong sense of the possessiveness people feel about the former Potashcorp, formerly a Crown corporation before being privatized in 1989. It enjoyed the goodwill engendered by its ubiquitous presence on banners and plaques as a financial supporter in countless communities.
“We are the largest employer in the province. We contribute a significant amount to the GDP of the province, but beyond just the numbers, clearly Potashcorp over the years established real close connections with the community,” Jones said. “And whether it’s people who have grown up on farms, or whether it’s people who have cousins, or friends, or uncles and aunts who have either worked in the potash mines or worked at the company, I understand why there’s possessiveness of it, because it’s part of who the province is. And there is pride in what’s been created over the years.”
While CEO Chuck Magro will headquarter in Calgary, Jones is looking forward to moving the Saskatoon office to Nutrien Tower, now under construction in River Landing. When complete, the 18-storey glass tower will be the province’s tallest office building, and Nutrien will inhabit eight floors, giving it room to grow.
There have been lots of discussions about the future of the new company in the province, and editorials and guest columns in newspapers bemoaning the fact the head office of the combined company will be in Calgary. But Jones sees the firm’s commitment to the province only deepening.
“From my perspective, speaking on behalf of our executive leadership, we are absolutely committed to this province,” said Jones. “Everything, from the employees that are here, to the community engagement and involvement we’ve got going on. And it’s not obviously just dollars, but it’s actual real value that we’re putting into community.”
Jones said Saskatchewan people have very openly accepted the new name and identity, probably in large part because of the company ’s continuing commitment to investing in the province.
“This year we’ve put $4.5 million into the community,” said Jones. “On a calendar year basis, we touch over 200 organizations.”
While the outreach and community engagement work started by Potashcorp will continue, a new era will really dawn in earnest next year when the Saskatchewan headquarters moves.
“I’m super excited about our new office building in River Landing. I think it’s going to change the landscape.”
Jones says people will come to realize that what the merger has done is create a leader in the agricultural space globally.
“It’s a Canadian champion in the industry, which is exciting,” she said. “We know that by 2050 we’re going to have almost 10 billion people to feed. What does that mean for a company of our size? We have the cashflow to put into technology to help farmers increase yield, to help developing countries grow food and actually help with balanced fertilization.
“It’s a pretty exciting company to be a part of and it’s a pretty exciting space to be a part of. I think there’s lots of change going on in agriculture, and we’re now in a position as a leading agricultural company to actually lead that change and impact food as it’s grown globally.”
The future of Nutrien looks bright, says Jones. She will be working hard to make sure that future includes even growth and predictable supply management. Right now, she is seeing the potash market in a state of recovery, with demand growth of four to five per cent over the past few years.
“What we’re expecting in the coming medium- to longer-term is 2.5 to three per cent growth. And that’s predominantly coming from China, India, Brazil and other parts of Asia.
“The good news for us is that we have excess capacity with Nutrien to move product into the market as the demand increases, and also to really utilize our retail network to help grow that demand and help pull it through the retail channel to the ultimate grower.”
New potash producing projects in Russia and Saskatchewan have not come on stream as quickly as expected, and when they do, she expects them to do so gradually.
“I think there’s an expectation by a lot of people that they just come on full force into the market, but that’s not how they are brought into production.”
In August, Nutrien reduced staffing at its Vancoy potash mine to increase efficiency, but announced it expected to increase staffing at other mines going forward.
Jones fully expects to see demand growth continue, and Nutrien wants to ensure that it is meeting demand without spikes and valleys in the market.
“It’s not helpful for our employees, it’s not helpful for farmers, and it’s certainly not helpful for the province. We want to have even growth and make sure we’re operating our assets safely and reliably and are actually meeting the demand that’s out there. So, I do feel positive, I would just say it’s a recovery, it’s not a spike and it shouldn’t be a spike.”