OntarioGrain Closes Sale of Five Grain Elevators to DG Global

Sollio Agriculture and DG Global are announcing that OntarioGrain L.P. (OntarioGrain) has concluded the sale of five grain elevators to DG Global Inc. DG Global will continue operating all grain elevators without interruption following an orderly transition of business with Sollio Agriculture.

DG Global has retained most OntarioGrain personnel who wished to continue their careers with the new owner. Existing OntarioGrain client contracts associated with the five elevators in the sale have transferred ownership to DG Global.

The sale includes the following sites:

• Shetland (1122 Shetland Rd, Florence, ON)

• Staples (3062 Essex 8, Staples, ON)

• Talbotville (39109 Talbot Line, Saint-Thomas, ON)

• Princeton (235 Second Concession Rd, Princeton, ON)

• Becher (1504 Lambton, RR5 Wallaceburg, ON) 
   

In September 2022, Sollio Agriculture—a majority shareholder in OntarioGrain—announced OntarioGrain’s difficult but necessary decision to exit the grain market in the province and began evaluating potential sales for OntarioGrain assets while maintaining operations through the 2022 harvest season.

Earlier this year, Sollio Agriculture shared encouraging results from its repositioning plan for the fiscal year that ended in October 2022 at Sollio Cooperative Group’s Annual General Meeting. Sollio Agriculture is building on its strengths by focusing on the balance of its core business activity: providing innovative crop and livestock production products and services to farm producers across the country.

Clients with additional questions are encouraged to contact DG Global.

Quotes

Casper Kaastra, CEO, Sollio Agriculture

“I’d like to thank all OntarioGrain employees for their hard work and contributions, and our clients for their loyalty through this process. We’re pleased with the terms and timeline of this sale that meet our initial wind-down plans with the best outcome: minor disruptions to current OntarioGrain employees and clients. While it was not an easy decision to make, this transition will see these elevators continue to serve the Ontario grain market under the guidance of local leaders with well-established reputations in the region.”

Dwight Gerling, Chief Executive Officer and Owner of DG Global Inc

“I would like to personally reassure existing customers that all five elevators will continue to operate as they normally do as we transition this business behind the scenes. We are pleased most of the existing staff has chosen to continue with DG Global. We expect no interruptions to elevator operations during our transition.

Since 2005, we’ve established ourselves as the leading agricultural container shipper in Canada.  As our presence both globally and regionally continues to grow, the acquisition of these assets allows us to deliver more Ontario-based agricultural commodities to markets domestically and around the world. We look forward to continuing to support Ontario’s grain market and serving the region’s producers with the quality and care they expect and deserve.”

About Sollio Agriculture

Sollio Agriculture, the Agri-business Division of Sollio Cooperative Group, is a Canadian leader in the agriculture industry. It specializes in merchandising farm inputs and providing value-added services to benefit farmers, cooperatives and partners. Its business model combines the strength of a local approach with the power of a national presence to offer innovative solutions, work on adopting sustainable farming practices and help local farming families prosper. Present across the country, it has 1,300 employees and made $2.929 billion in sales in 2022. For more information, visit sollio.ag.

About DG Global Inc.

DG Global Inc., a proudly Canadian privately-held company, is the leading exporter of containerized grains in Canada. Through its partnerships and network of facilities domestically and abroad, the company excels in expanding the footprint for Canadian agricultural commodities with a reach of more than 60 countries around the world. DG Global Inc.’s expertise in sourcing, processing, storage, and exporting continues to strengthen its presence globally. Since 2010, DG Global Inc. has been recognized as one of Canada’s Fastest Growing Companies by Canadian Business Magazine and was a proud recipient of the Globe and Mail Report on Business’ ranking of Canada’s Top Growing Companies in 2021 and 2022. For more information, visit https://dgglobal.ca.  

For more information about OntarioGrain and Sollio Agriculture:   
Marie-Emmanuelle Khoury mkhoury@webershandwick.com   

For more information about DG Global:    
Karen Sample ksample@31stline.com