Huron Bay/North Wellington Co-operatives to merge Sept. 1

BY SHAWN LOUGHLIN

By way of a unanimous member vote, the Huron Bay Co-operative Inc. and North Wellington Co-operative Services Inc. will be joining forces, becoming Midwest Co-operative Services Inc. as of Sept. 1, 2022.

The amalgamation came unanimously recommended by the boards of both co-operatives.

The vote took place on April 7 with both co-operatives hosting members’ meetings concurrently so the vote could take place simultaneously. According to General Manager Kelly Boyle, a two-thirds majority was needed from both co-operatives in order for the new structure to move forward. Boyle will serve as the general manager of the newly-amalgamated co-operative. He said, in an interview with The Citizen, that those managing the two businesses began to see their vehicles and representatives travelling the same roads and servicing the same areas. In this era, he said, that kind of duplication of services calls for increased efficiency and, thanks to a well-established relationship between the two co-operatives, the conversation was an easy one to have.

“We are looking at ways to position our co-operative to be more competitive, as we are facing larger competitors. We currently occupy a lot of common trade territory and have limited space to grow geographically,” The business’ frequently-asked questions package on the merger states. “This step will allow us to work within a larger geography in a co-ordinated and efficient way. We always want to create an organization that can attract talent as it will be able to offer specialized roles for administrative and management purposes as well as expertise at the farm gate, like precision agriculture.
“Our vision is a stronger, more competitive and profitable co-operative that provides core products and services to our member owners.”

Because of the co-operative structure, an amalgamation like this one can happen without a direct sale of one company to another, Boyle said, but just a member vote.

Other than the name change and the consolidation of resources, Boyle said the company doesn’t have any big changes planned. It will continue operating out of the same 16 shared locations in the 16 current communities, so it really should be “business as usual” as far as members, customers and community members are concerned.

Those who have memberships in one of the two previous co-operatives will simply have a membership in the new co-operative, under the new name, beginning this September. The new co-operative has a shared membership of over 9,000 farmers and rural residents.

Boyle says that, with the Sept. 1 timeline in place, there is plenty of time to work out any kinks along the way both internally and externally.

The projected combined sales for the newly-amalgamated co-operative will be over $86 million with service revenues of $3 million, according to the amalgamation fact sheet. The combined assets of the new co-operative are projected to have a book value of $55 million with territory in Grey, Bruce, Wellington, Huron, Perth and Dufferin Counties.

The fact sheet also reiterates that there will be no job losses as a result of the restructuring process. Rather, management anticipates the need for additional staff as member demand for specialized services increases. In addition, there are no immediate plans to close any of the co-operative’s locations.

The new head office will be located in the Teeswater facility, while the Harriston office will continue to provide administrative support.