REGINA, SASKATCHEWAN, CANADA — Alliance Grain Traders Inc. announced on Nov. 3 that it has acquired certain real property, storage and related handling equipment from C & F Foods, Inc., a California corporation, Real Partner Investments, LLC, a California limited liability company, and MCL Ag Investments Partnership, LLP (MCL), a North Dakota limited liability partnership.

The acquired assets are located in Minot, North Dakota, U.S. AGT has committed C$12 million for the acquisition and build-out of the facility, with an estimated August 2012 completion. The facility will be operated by AGT's U.S. subsidiary, United Pulse Trading Inc. (UPT).


The planned build-out will include the installation of pulse processing equipment for beans, chickpeas, peas and lentils to augment AGT's U.S. processing capacity at the Williston, North Dakota, U.S., production facility.

The new facility will also add additional capacity for value-added pulses production of food ingredient pulses flours, proteins, starches and fibers. Pulses and grains processing and handling equipment were included in the purchase and are in "ready-for-installation" condition.

The site, originally constructed as a pulse processing facility, was never completed or commissioned by the previous owners. It is expected that the new facility, once commissioned, will provide origination reach into central and eastern North Dakota, which is a region of substantial acreage of beans, peas and pulses. The site also provides transportation advantages for both export and domestic shipments with inbound containers being driven by inbound shipments of equipment for the oil and gas sector in North Dakota.