International Company Sows Seeds of Success in County of Newell
In 1975, Global Thermoelectric's founders, a group of entrepreneurs from the oil and gas industry in the County of Newell Region, purchased thermoelectric technology from 3M. This technology was developed for NASA's Apollo program and was used to generate power on the moon.
After adapting the technology to apply to oil and gas and telecom markets in Alberta, Global's business took off, quickly becoming the world standard for remote power generation systems. Installations are regularly used in for gas pipelines, wellheads, offshore platforms, telecommunications, and security and surveillance monitoring. To date there have been more than 20,000 Global Thermoelectric Generators (TEGs) installed in 50 countries.
But Global is more than just TEGs: success soon led to the development and integration of other remote power products. Global can now provide remote power systems where TEGs are not ideal, including larger loads and liquid fueled systems.
Global offers solutions based on industrial gensets, hybrids, photovoltaics, grid-connected systems and combined heat and power systems.
Global is privately owned with corporate offices in Canada and the U.S., and authorized sales representatives throughout the world. Global's head office is in Calgary, but the company has also remained rooted to where it began. A manufacturing plant is located in Bassano.
Global has received the Canada Export Award three times as well as a special Lifetime Achievement Award.
Visit the Global Thermoelectric web site for more information about the company.
Lakeside Packers
Lakeside Farm Industries is owned by US company Tyson Foods. Inc. It is a diversified agribusiness involved with feeding, slaughtering and processing of cattle, retail fertilizer, farming a 5,000 acre, irrigated land base for silage and providing agricultural research and consulting. Lakeside is located in the County of Newell.
Lakeside began operations in 1966 when the first feedlot pens and a commercial feed mill were built. Lakeside Farm Industries was created in 1969 with the merger of the feeding and milling interests. The company has gradually expanded and diversified in the agribusiness industry, now there are six operating divisions.
In 1974 the meat plant opened at the existing Lakeside Packers location. It was originally designed to process 50 cattle per hour. By the mid 1980’s the plant slaughtered 225,00 annually and by 1989 it was operating a double shift with a daily capacity of 1,000 cattle. Last year, Lakeside Packers slaughtered 1,100,000 cattle, which is about 1/3 of the Canadian total.
In the past several years the complex has developed, now housing a variety of offices, cafeteria and employee service facilities. It employs 1,600 full-time staff with a target of 4,700 cattle slaughtered and processed daily. Sales of Lakeside products continue to grow. 60% of all sales are exported worldwide.
In 2001 Lakeside was purchased by Tyson Foods. As a result of Tyson’s commitment to the Canadian beef industry, the Lakeside Packers facility is the most modern, state-of-the-art beef processing facility in North America. Lakeside is also the County of Newell’s single largest employer.
Visit the Lakeside Packers web site for more information about the company.
The Scandia Honey Corporation
Scandia Honey is a family run operation located in the hamlet of Scandia. It is the largest producer of honey in Canada. They sell packaged bees from New Zealand, beeswax, honey and forklifts! They also provide services for pollination and wax rendering. Since moving to the area they have become very involved with the community and enjoy country living!
Visit the Scandia Honey web site for more information about the company.
Spragg’s Pasture Pork
Greg and Bonnie started farming at their present location in March 2002. After being employed at a hog barn in the area, Greg’s desire was to have his own hogs. So Bonnie purchased 3 little pigs for his birthday in May 2002. And the herd grew from there. By the end of the summer, Greg had raised 75 weaner pigs to market weight. Of those he kept 25 females for breeding stock and the rest were sold. Spragg Farms is expanding its pig production and expects to be raising 500 hogs to market weight annually. The farm also consists of 200 acres of irrigated land on which crops are grown to later grind into the necessary pig feed. These crops include barley, wheat and fababeans.
Spragg’s Meat Shop opened in Nov 2005. This expansion into processing allows Greg and Bonnie to raise the hogs, process them and then market the pork products direct to the consumer. Greg directs the meat processing with 3 staff helping to get everything done. Spragg’s Meat Shop is the main retail outlet for their free range natural pork, but this pork is also available at various farmer's markets in Alberta.
From 2002 to the present, Greg and Bonnie have continued to raise their hogs from birth to market weight in a natural setting. The sows have 2 litters per year with an average of 9-10 per litter. After nursing for 4-6 weeks, the piglets are weaned and put onto large pastures. They are always offered a barley/fababean ration along with either pasture in the summer or alfalfa hay in the winter.
The piglets do not receive any antibiotics or growth stimulants in their feed or by injection. Piglets do not experience the stresses of tail docking or tooth clipping and farrowing crates are not used. These practices are unnecessary when more room and access to the outdoors is given to each animal.
Greg and Bonnie are proud of the pigs that they raise. Although both Greg and Bonnie have raised hogs in confinement operations, they would never consider putting up a barn after having raised hogs outside since 2002. When pigs are allowed to live and grow in a more natural environment, they develop personalities and even attitudes. Raising hogs in a low stress environment means happy pigs and happy producers.
Visit the Spragg's Meat Shop web site for more information about the company.
CCS Waste Disposal Plant
CCS Midstream Services has become western Canada's leader in treatment, recovery and disposal of petroleum by-products.
As a customer-driven organization, the company takes great pride in finding innovative solutions that maximize efficiencies at every level. With over 400 employees, they focus on continuous improvement allowing them to grow as a global leader of energy services. They also maintain a long-term commitment to environmental stewardship by constantly setting - and raising - industry standards.
The Newell Industrial Landfill facility opened in 1998. Today they have a large state of the art facility in the County.
The industrial cell is able to take both industrial and oilfield waste streams. The industrial and oilfield waste disposal cell in the County is designed with:
- A leachate collection and removal system consisting of a perforated pipe system graded to drain through a granular drainage matrix to a collection sump.
- One meter thick engineered clay liner system. The design and performance of the liner system in place meet the criteria outlined in EUB ID 99-04 and the Draft Standards and Guidelines for Landfills in Alberta for no limits on total hydrocarbons or chlorides concentration in waste submitted for disposal.
- The bioremediation pad is constructed with a 0.5 meter thick compacted clay liner, and is equipped with run-on and run-off controls to manage any precipitation on the pad as leachate.
Visit the CCS Midstream Services web site for more information about the company.
