Hamilton Port Authority welcomes the announcement of a new flour mill to be constructed by Parrish & Heimbecker Ltd. at its port. Ontario Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, Jeff Leal, announced a provincial package of grants and loans of $5 million toward the construction of the new mill. The new state-of-the-art bulk mill will enable the company to process 25 per cent more grain, and help increase the company’s intake of Ontario wheat by over 10 per cent annually. P&H Milling is investing $40 million toward the new mill.
The new flour mill will be located on Pier 10 at the Port of Hamilton, adjacent to Parrish & Heimbecker’s existing grain storage and export terminal, which opened in 2011. “We’re very proud that Parrish & Heimbecker chose to expand its footprint at the Port, and we look forward to working with the company to develop this facility,” said Bruce Wood, President & CEO of Hamilton Port Authority. “P&H has been instrumental in putting Hamilton and its port on Ontario’s agri-food map.”
More than $100 million in agri-food -related investments have been made at the port in less than a decade. Agricultural cargo has increased as a proportion of the port’s total tonnage, from 9 per cent (815,000 Metric Tonnes) in 2008, to 20 per cent (2 million MT) in 2014.
Port of Hamilton’s role as a primary agri-food gateway is leading in turn to the attraction of higher-order food processing enterprises, like Parrish and Heimbecker’s new four mill, SucroCan’s sugar refinery and Collective Arts/Nickel Brook’s craft brewery, all established within the last three years. “Together with our tenants, we help Ontario farmers get their grain to international markets, we import crop inputs, and we house food manufacturing, warehousing and transportation assets that help keep Ontario’s food economy moving,” said Bruce Wood.
Port of Hamilton offers agri-food producers a highly valuable combination of location and transportation efficiency. The largest port in Ontario, it is located on the Great Lakes – St. Lawrence Seaway, is served by CN and CP railways, and offers direct highway access a short distance from the U.S. border.