A public investor meeting was held in Redvers last week for the Re-Gain Corporation, a corporation under Parko Ventures Corp. The Re-Gain Corporation is hoping to establish a wheat-straw pulp mill in the Redvers area.
During the presentations that spanned over two days, Re-Gain extended the opportunity for local investors to invest in the project before making plans to open investment opportunities in other avenues, saying they would prefer to keep investments local.
Local investors will receive special incentives to invest in the project including reimbursement of the money invested after a set number of years and $1.00 shares.
Currently there is no set number for how much investment Re-Gain is looking for, but during last week’s presentations it was said that Re-Gain is looking for as much investment as possible.
Redvers was selected because of its location and concentration of grain farms in the area. Redvers resident and local farmer Martin Hjertaas helped bring attention to Redvers after expressing interest in Re-Gain, noting its ideal location.
Because of the surrounding farmland, there is no short supply of wheat-straw that is used in production for the mill.
The wheat mill, which is estimated to cost around $23.7 million, would process wheat straw into pulp that could be used for bio-degradable dinnerware and single-use cutlery.
Wheat straw would be bought by Re-Gain at market value from local producers and turned into a pulp which is used to produce the biodegradable products. Producers would then be able to collect the waste that is produced by the process and use it to return nutrients to the soil.
Founder of Re-Gain, Nitin Chirdeep, says their goal for the meeting was to answer the questions and concerns of local investors and producers.
“We just wanted to give a brief overview of our company, what we stand for, and basically what are willing to do to set up a factory in Redvers. This is a completely clean tech biotech agri-waste product manufacturing company with biodegradable products,” said Chirdeep.
“We were looking to raise support from all the ag producers as well as looking for any potential investors who support us in our vision.”
Chirdeep says that they had a good turnout for their meeting.
“We ran six sessions in total, lasting two days. With COVID restrictions being monitored, we had a great turnout and we saw a lot of support from the people attending as well.”
Chirdeep explained that the pulp mill will also be able to produce biodegradable products, noting that they could supply a green alternative to single-use plastics.
During a meeting on Monday, Chirdeep explained that they would ideally be able to supply surrounding communities with single-use products which could be used as take-out boxes or single-use dishes and cutlery for events.
“Our first goal is to make the wheat-straw pulp mill. We have a niche technology that is being researched and developed by our company to produce wheat-straw pulp in an efficient and green way. Our first source of product is the pulp, subsequent processing will be done for tableware and cutlery which would enable us to lower the use of single-use plastics.”
Chirdeep notes the products made through the pulp mill would be made available for purchase in Redvers and surrounding communities.
Chirdeep says that the companies are on track to begin construction this year, however, Re-Gain is still looking for investors to contribute to the project. Operating through funding with Parko Ventures, Chirdeep says they will be able to begin construction, but will require investment as they progress.
“We are pretty much in line, we have made all the necessary connections, we’re been in touch with RM of Antler and we have found the area that we would be constructing it on. Also, we’ve been receiving a great amount of support from the Redvers Town Council and we hope to kickstart our work by the middle of this year.
“We are expecting a turnaround time of 12 and 15 months from the end of construction to the start of production. We are anticipating to complete construction by July 2022 and we hope to open our doors between 12 and 15 months after,” said Chirdeep.
He says that the plant will operate with 20 employees per shift for three shifts with a total of 60 employees being hired for the processing plant.
Chirdeep says that ideally, Re-Gain will hire as many as they can from Redvers and the surrounding area.
“With the number of jobs we will be putting on the table, we would be employing most of our workforce out of Redvers locally and training them. Apart from that, we would also be working with all the ag producers and farmers in developing and bringing in the latest trends and technologies available through our other entities of Parko Ventures and making it available.”
Chirdeep notes that if the first mill is successful, Re-Gain intends to construct a total of 8 wheat-straw pulp mills across the prairie provinces all under the Re-Gain Corporation, starting with Redvers, then Morden before constructing one in Alberta as well.
Spencer Kemp, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, The World-Spectator
2021-04-06
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