RWL Holdings Ltd. employs modern, new technology to enhance the competitiveness of the region’s potato industry.
Fisheries and Oceans Minister Gail Shea and PEI Agriculture and Forestry Minister George Webster were in Travellers Rest to announce a combined investment of $569,000 for RWL Holdings Ltd. to purchase innovative, technologically advanced equipment for a high-speed potato wash facility.
This new optical-sensing sorting equipment allows RWL Holdings to offer a new service to Prince Edward Island potato growers by providing them with a high-speed, high-volume service that will help increase their profitability by offering a more consistent product.
Quick Facts
• The Government of Canada, through ACOA’s Business Development Program, has invested $500,000 towards the purchase of this new equipment. The Government of Prince Edward Island, through the Department of Agriculture and Forestry’s Growing Forward 2 Programs, has invested a total of $69,000 in this project.
• This funding will allow RWL Holdings to open a potato wash facility using the most innovative sorting technology. The equipment will sort the potatoes by size and type on a just-in-time basis, allowing more efficiency when sorting loads of potatoes for large-scale processors like McCains and Cavendish Farms.
• The potato industry is a large international industry and this facility will help Prince Edward Island producers remain competitive in the global marketplace by reducing the overall waste of potatoes and allowing for better product quality control.
Quotes
“Our Government understands the important role primary sectors, like agriculture, play in sustaining our economy. Investing in innovative companies, like RWL Holdings Ltd., who are working at the leading edge of their industry, is key to strengthening our regional economy and ensuring Atlantic Canada’s competitiveness in the global economy,”
- The Honourable Gail Shea, Minister of Fisheries and Oceans, on behalf of the Honourable Rob Moore, Minister of State (Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency)
“Our Government recognizes that every advantage gained through innovative technology pays dividends throughout an industry and the national economy. This investment will allow the potato sector, PEI’s biggest generator of agricultural sales, to continue to stay competitive in global markets.”
- The Honourable Gerry Ritz, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food
“The Government of Prince Edward Island is committed to investing in initiatives that encourage new innovative technologies and improved competitiveness. This new equipment will help to increase the competitive position of the Island’s potato industry and achieve higher returns for producers from the marketplace.”
- The Honourable George Webster, PEI Minister of Agriculture and Forestry
“With the new technology our company is helping to modernize the potato industry here in Prince Edward Island. This service to Island potato-growers will help increase their profits as well as help ensure the processors are receiving the best possible product. We are very grateful to both levels of government for their investments into our company and the potato industry.”
- Mr. Austin Roberts, Co-Owner of RWL Holdings Ltd.