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Kal Tire plant won’t go ahead west of Regina

Apr 25, 2013 | 5:12 PM

A plan to build a $25-million Kal Tire plant just outside of Regina has been scrapped.

The facility, which would have been located near the Global Transportation Hub west of the city, was the subject of a zoning dispute, among other issues. The RM of Sherwood gave Kal Tire the green light, however Regina Mayor Michael Fougere said he wanted a comprehensive development plan in place before projects started going up in that area.

“Timing and concern over costs impacted our ability to start construction on this new distribution centre,” said John Mullin, Kal Tire's senior vice president, purchasing and marketing, in a statement. It went on to say the company missed a critical deadline in order to be ready for the 2014 winter rush season, leading to a more-cost effective decision for them; to expand a plant in Edmonton instead.

Economy minister Bill Boyd said from his office in the Legislature that he is disappointed in the decision.

“It certainly was something that we were interested in seeing here in Saskatchewan,” he said.

“It would have resulted in some jobs obviously, and some investment.”

The plant would have employed around 100 people, not to mention the construction positions needed to build it.

In November 2012, it seemed the issues were smoothed over and the project was still a go; that is until Thursday when it was announced the project was off for good. But Boyd insists the dispute has absolutely nothing to do with Kal Tire's decision.

“They have said that it's more economical for them to add on to an already existing facility… rather than to build a new facility here,” he said, calling it a “business decision”.

Fougere said he was surprised by the news as he believed the project would go ahead, but said he hadn't heard many of the details on the decision or how it came about.

Boyd said in the meantime, he is encouraged for the future.

“Kal Tire has indicated they are going to be maintaining their facility in Regina and at some point in time they will look at expanding it again, perhaps,” he said.

Kal Tire’s statement ended with “we still have a long term commitment to Saskatchewan through our existing warehouse and retread plant in Regina as well as our store network throughout the province. Over time, we still intend to find a larger warehouse in the prairies to support our future growth.”

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