Canadian steel grain bin maker Westeel has tapped a Swedish manufacturer to build Westeel-branded conveyor and elevator grain handling systems.
Westeel on Monday announced it has contracted with Skandia Elevator, based at Arentorp, Sweden, about 100 km northeast of Goteborg, to manufacture conveyors and elevators for sale in Canada under the Westeel name.
Skandia’s systems “will work seamlessly with Westeel’s line of portable grain handling equipment and are completely customizable to the needs of any farm or commercial operation,” Westeel said.
“Elevators and conveyors represent one of the missing pieces of the puzzle in being able to offer our customers complete grain handling solutions, both portable and integral, for their operations,” Westeel general manager Andre Granger said in the company’s release.
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Skandia, which bills itself as Europe’s “market leader in conveyor systems,” was founded in 1914 by the Larsson family to make threshing machines and switched its focus to conveyor systems in 1975. The company’s network of dealers covers Western and Eastern Europe and extends to Australia and New Zealand.
The Swedish firm uses “similar state-of-the-art manufacturing processes to those used by Westeel in the manufacturing of our grain storage products,” Granger said, noting the Swedish firm’s systems come completely galvanized.
Skandia co-owner Joakim Larsson, also in Westeel’s release, described the expansion to the Canadian market as “an exciting new business opportunity” for the firm.
The announcement marks Westeel’s second move into handling equipment, following a deal last fall with fellow Winnipeg manufacturer Buhler Industries, to make Westeel-branded products such as augers, grain vacs, grain cleaners and aeration systems.
That deal also expanded Westeel’s distribution in the U.S. market, providing Westeel bins to select members of Buhler’s U.S. dealer network, to be marketed under Buhler’s Farm King brand name.
