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HAMILTON, ON – Today, K+S Potash Canada GP (KSPC) and National Steel Car (NSC) are celebrating the delivery of the first of over 500 rail cars to transport potash from KSPC’s Legacy Project near Bethune, SK to their potash handling and storage facility in Port Moody, B.C.
“This is another exciting milestone for our project, and we would like to thank National Steel Car for their partnership in this initiative,” said Dr. Ulrich Lamp, President and CEO of K+S Potash Canada. “The work we are doing to prepare to move our product to market is an important aspect of the Legacy Project. The delivery of our first rail car is symbolic of both the continued progress of our project and the positive relationships we are committed to building as a company.”
KSPC’s Legacy Project is the first new potash mine in Saskatchewan in over 40 years, and the brand-new facility comes with high-speed loading requirements for the product. NSC was up to the challenge with its industry-leading rail car design, produced for KSPC.
“We are proud that K+S Potash Canada selected National Steel Car to produce these rail cars for their new potash mine,” said Hugh Nicholson, Executive Vice President of Marketing, Sales & Quality of National Steel Car. “It is an exciting day for our team, as we have been working together on this project since 2012, and are so pleased to deliver the first car to them today.”
The cars are unique in cubic capacity and car length: they hold the same capacity as a regular car but are designed slightly shorter so that there can be more cars per train. A single opening at the top of the car will allow them to be loaded with the product while in motion.
The freight trains will consist of 177 cars pulled from the Saskatchewan prairies through the Rocky Mountains by five locomotives, adding up to a total length of approximately 3 km. The trains will then be unloaded automatically into a warehouse or directly onto a ship at KSPC’s facility in Port Moody, B.C., where it will be shipped to developing regions worldwide. Part of the rail fleet will also be used to transport products to the US.
Sales and distribution of KSPC’s potash will be carried out through the K+S Group’s experienced and well-established global distribution structures.
National Steel Car is proud to call Hamilton home. With over 100 years of excellence in engineering, manufacturing, and continuous commitment to safety and quality, National Steel Car has earned its reputation as North America’s leading railroad freight and tank car manufacturer.
K+S is an international resources company. We have been mining and processing mineral raw materials for more than 125 years. The products we produce from them are used worldwide in agriculture, food, and road safety and are important elements in numerous industrial processes. Potash and salt are integral nutrients for the megatrend of a constantly growing and increasingly prosperous global population striving for a higher standard of living. This will result in increasing consumption of mineral resources. We serve the resulting growth in demand from production sites in Europe, North America, and South America as well as through a global distribution network. K+S is the world’s largest salt producer and one of the top potash providers worldwide. With more than 14,000 employees, K+S achieved revenues in the financial year 2015 of about € 4.2 billion and an EBIT of € 782 million. Learn more about K+S at www.k-plus-s.com.
K+S is putting its more than one hundred years of mining experience and world-class expertise to work on the Legacy Project, a potash solution mine and production facility being built near Moose Jaw. It will be the first new greenfield potash mine built in Saskatchewan in over forty years. Commissioning started in the summer of 2016. K+S projects it will reach two million tonnes of production capacity by the end of 2017. The Legacy Project will mean new job opportunities for Saskatchewan workers, and new business opportunities for Saskatchewan companies supplying goods and services to this major economic development. K+S is growing Saskatchewan while providing the potash that is needed to help feed a growing world population. More information at www.ks-potashcanada.com.
Maeghan Dubois
Senior Communications Specialist
K+S Potash Canada
Phone: (306) 371-0122
Email: maeghan.dubois@ks-potashcanada.com