Victoria, BC – PRT Growing Services Ltd. has reached an agreement with the ownership group of Skimikin Nursery Ltd to acquire the company, effective July 1.
Skimikin Nursery is located in Tappen, BC, approximately one hour north of PRT’s three other nurseries in BC’s Okanagan region. Skimikin was first established as a BC Ministry of Forests (BC MoF) nursery in 1977. In 2002, the current ownership group purchased the nursery and has operated it successfully since.
PRT notes that Skimikin’s team has a built solid reputation in both forest seedling growing and customer service. The nursery is comprised of a 100-acre (40 ha) site with approximately 260,000 square feet of greenhouse facilities and approximately 196,000 square feet of open compound growing space. Skimikin’s customer base comprises both forest industry customers and the BC Ministry of Forests.
PRT President and CEO Rob Miller commented, “With the acquisition of this facility, PRT will take another step towards our goal of better serving our customers in the BC Interior. Given the shift away from open compound grown pine species and towards alternative greenhouse-grown species in the post Mountain Pine Beetle era, the acquisition of Skimikin Nursery with its significant greenhouse capacity and strong team, will assist PRT in meeting customer needs in the evolving BC forest seedling market.“
Miller added, “This acquisition provides PRT with opportunity to improve our service offering while providing stability for employees and a succession opportunity for the current owners. We recognize and respect the legacy of this nursery, and its importance to the fabric of the BC Interior silviculture industry.”
The PRT group, through affiliates PRT USA Inc. and PRT Growing Services Ltd, is a forest seedling propagator and the largest producer of container-grown forest seedlings in North America. Following the Skimikin acquisition, PRT will grow over 210 million seedlings annually and operate a network of 15 forest seedling nurseries in the US and Canada, as well as Bionera, its short rotation woody crop subsidiary.