LANDMARK FEEDS closing doors
Strathmore location will remain open
Landmark Feeds is closing its doors in Medicine Hat, affecting about 15 employees and ending a chapter in history spanning more than three decades.
The writing was already on the wall last fall when six employees lost their jobs, said manager Manfred Ohler.
“They decided to shut Medicine Hat down and keep Strathmore open,” said Ohler. “I know they’re looking at the customer base and the tons we produce was too low. The customer base around Strathmore is way bigger.”
Increased freight costs made it less cost effective to drive long distances to keep customers, said Ohler — in the case of Medicine Hat, it was all the way to Regina.
About seven years ago, Maple Leaf Foods owned Landmark Feeds and there was a lot of hog business, says Ohler.
“We produced 80,000 or 90,000 tons a year,” said Ohler.
That changed shortly after Maple Leaf sold to Nutreco Canada Inc. They pulled the plug on the hog business.
“We lost 50,000 tons overnight. At that point we had to layoff seven or eight people already,” said Ohler.
In addition to the six employees terminated last fall, another three will lose their jobs at the end of March. Operations will slowly wind down until the end of June when the last seven employees will be without jobs, said Ohler, who will manage the Strathmore plant.
“I feel sorry for the people,” said Ohler. “My staff in Medicine Hat have 10 or 20 years of service.”
For the close-knit group of long-term employees in Medicine Hat it has been a tough time, he explained.
The company has tried to provide alternative jobs in locations such as Strathmore and assist with some of the moving costs, said Ohler. Most employees were reluctant to move, with just two making the transition.
The local history of Landmark Feeds goes all the way back to the days it was called Hy-Point Feeds Ltd., which opened in the mid 1980s and was situated downtown, said Ohler, who has been with the company from the beginning. A fire destroyed the building and it was rebuilt in Brier Park in 1986.
Hy-Point Feeds Ltd. sold to Lakeside Milling, which sold to Landmark Feeds, which sold to Maple Leaf Foods, which sold to Nutreco in 1996/7 — a company based in Holland. Three years ago it was sold to an investment company in Holland, said Ohler.
“I’ve been sold seven times,” he said with a laugh.
At the end of June, the equipment at the Brier Park facility will be dismantled. The lot and the empty building will then be up for sale, said Ohler.
“I was hoping I could retire there. I didn’t make it,” said Ohler, 62. “I needed only three more years.”