It’s nice. It’s exciting for us and the staff. It means that they’re doing something good moving forward.
— Terry Popowich
Yorkton’s TA Foods has been honoured with the 2015 ABEX award for Growth and Expansion.
The company, which manufactures value-added flaxseed products such as oil and ground flax, has almost doubled its number of employees to 29 and increased revenues by 300 per cent over the past couple of years according to co-owner Terry Popowich.
To some degree, Terry credits his son Michael, who came on board during that same time frame as co-owner and handles marketing.
The Popowich family is no stranger to growing businesses. Terry and Ann Popowich started milling pulses in the 1980s on a family acreage. During that time, they seized an opportunity to expand.
“One kind of leads on to the other,” Terry said. “When we were doing pulses somebody asked ‘can you do oats?’, so that’s how we got into the oats business.”
They grew that business to 100 employees before selling to Grain Millers in 2001.
Within a couple of years Terry and Ann were building the new business. They recognized flax as a growing concern.
“It’s something that’s healthy for you and it’s one of the local grains we could value-add here,” Terry said, citing research that indicates the Omega fatty acids in the grain may help reduce blood pressure.
“We looked at it and people were using it more and more, the oil and also the ground flax. You can use it anywhere you use canola oil. You can’t deep fry with it, but it’s got all your Omega-threes and sixes and nines, so it’s a very healthy oil for you.”
The company was thrilled to be honoured by the Saskatchewan Chamber of Commerce, which sponsors the ABEX awards.
“It’s nice,” Terry said. “It’s exciting for us and the staff. It means that they’re doing something good moving forward.”
