A southern Manitoba company that makes aeration systems for new grain bins and the after-market has lost its building to fire.
Overall damage and losses at the All Size Perforating facility near Winkler, about 120 km southwest of Winnipeg, are estimated at about $2.5 million, according to RCMP at nearby Carman.
RCMP said in a release Wednesday that the fire was first reported to them at about 2:30 p.m. on Tuesday, and they attended along with firefighters from Winkler.
An employee was cutting a metal barrel in the company’s building, RCMP said, when flammable residue in the barrel ignited. Within minutes, RCMP said, the metal-clad structure was “fully involved.”
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The plant’s staff are reported to have escaped unharmed, except for the employee working on the barrel when it ignited. That worker was treated for minor injuries at Boundary Trails Hospital near Winkler, then released, RCMP said.
The provincial fire commissioner’s office is still investigating the blaze, RCMP said Wednesday.
All Size’s products include louvered, perforated flooring for grain bins in order to conduct air to dry or aerate grain in the bin. All Size says on its website that its products can be installed in new cone or hopper-bottom bins or retrofitted into existing bins.
The company has sold its products to bin makers such as Lethbridge, Alta.-based Twister Pipe, and in recent years was looking to expand its distribution further into the U.S., apart from its local-level retail sales in North Dakota and Minnesota.
