UFA fuel tanks are in, on track for opening this fall

The United Farmers of Alberta (UFA) is now one more step closer to seeing their future petroleum Cardlock location in Weyburn come to fruition. The fuel tanks have arrived.

"So that's a really important step in the completion of our facility," said President and CEO, Scott Bolton. "Those are quite large, those fuel tanks, and they're being installed as we speak, and our warehouse is nearing completion also the construction on the rest of the site is now where we go next, all in the hopes of getting our doors opened in November on schedule."

He said stormy weather hit the area when they first broke ground in May.

"The weather conditions have had a little bit of impact, I would say, but you know what? That's to be expected. It's always dependent on the weather, so you learn to deal with it."

Bolton said while there is still plenty of work yet ahead, they are still on track.

"If we get good weather, and cooperation in our supply chains working to get the rest of the equipment in place, I feel pretty confident we can open on schedule in November. You build in the contingencies in your planning as best you can, but I have to say in this environment, where the supply chain challenge is something none of us have experienced before in our business careers."

He said they're seeing delays and unpredictability on the supply chain side of things, but it's so far, so good.

"We're in good shape and I feel pretty confident we can get there and get our start date very close to the original plan." 

"If one link in the chain, so to speak, breaks, the whole system can get delayed, and so it's an intricate process. There's a lot of planning that goes in, and we have a whole planning team that is involved in making sure that all of the pieces of the puzzle are there at the right moments in time. But this is what they do for a living, and they've gotten pretty good at it, so you know what? Something can always happen, of course, but all things considered, I'm pretty pleased with where we're at so far."

Bolton added everyone at UFA is very excited to enter the Weyburn market. 

"We can't wait to open, to meet our new customers, and members, and help establish the business and a rapport through community investment," he shared, noting they sponsored the Junior Barrel Racing portion of the recent Souris River Rodeo. "That's part of the cooperative spirit in our organization and you live in a wonderful community, and we can't wait to be part of it. So just excited to get going." 

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