Sod Turning Marks Beginning of WestGen’s New Development

February 26, 2014 marked the beginning of construction for the new home of WestGen. Together with Abbotsford Mayor Bruce Banman, Councillor Henry Braun, current and former WestGen Board members, WestGen CEO, associated press and staff, WestGen celebrated a Sod Turning Event to officially launch the development of its future new home in Abbotsford, BC.

“This facility here, as the one in Milner does now, will house the most genetically superior beef and dairy cattle in Canada and indeed North America; and therefore the world,” stated Tony DeGroot, President of the board of WestGen.

Mayor of Abbotsford, Bruce Banman, also present at the ceremony, spoke to an enthusiastic crowd saying, “We are incredibly proud that you chose our city to make your new headquarters.” He continued, “It is my great pleasure to welcome WestGen to Abbotsford. On behalf of the city of Abbotsford, I’d like to offer my most sincere congratulations in celebrating your 70th anniversary, and we hope you are here for a long, long time.”

CEO Chris Parry, made the final address explaining the reasoning behind the move to Abbotsford and what the city can expect from a company like WestGen. “Moving to Abbotsford was not an easy decision. We thought long and hard about whether we move WestGen at all but we realize as a company we need to be connected to our agriculture industry and the heart of the dairy industry. That’s why we came to Abbotsford.”

WestGen celebrates 70 years of service to dairy and beef producers in 2014 with the past year having been a momentous year in the company’s history. “Over the past year, we’ve seen a big evolution at WestGen as a company. We have a new look, but we also have new businesses. We’ve talked about them before; Cryogen, Boviteq West and our Semex investments. They are not just bringing in revenue locally; these are bringing revenue in from Western Canada and all over the world. And we need to remember that and we need to celebrate that.” stated Parry.

The final part of the event was the planting of the maple tree on the new property. Tony DeGroot and Bruce Banman each took a shovel and carved the first ceremonious scoops of dirt on the property. Chris Parry’s final remark of the event was that, “This is a company that we all should be proud of and that we all should celebrate, and we all should look forward to a strong and fruitful future.”