Champion Pet Foods' plan to clear the air in Morinville is proceeding on schedule and the company is promising to step up efforts for clearer communication with residents.
Company president Frank Burdzy was at Morinville town council last week to give an update on the company's plan to control foul odours emanating from its pet food plant. He told councillors Champion has completed pilot testing on a system that could be fully operational in July.
The system, to be installed over the next few months, will add scrubbers to the plant's existing plasma injection system.
Champion expects this will reduce the odour coming out of the plant's stacks by about 80 per cent, but Burdzy told council the company is aiming for continuous improvement.
"As we are going down this path it really is about looking down as far down the future as we possibly can," he said.
The company had a booth at the recent Morinville trade show, where Burdzy said he fielded many questions, concerns and complaints from residents. The company also put out a town-wide mail-out last week with information about their plan.
"It was a good opportunity to be visible and to show that we are not concerned about hiding anything, we are not concerned about answering questions," Burdzy told council.
Burdzy also detailed trips he and other company officials had taken to Europe to study the practices of companies there who had been successful at eliminating odours.
Morinville Mayor Lloyd Bertschi said he was pleased with the company's moves.
"Since they have finally taken ownership of this thing they have done a good job of keeping us up to date and they are still on their timelines."
Since Champion began communicating their plan the number of calls and emails he receives about the problem has dropped considerably, he added.
"The fact that they have gone over to Europe and talked to other manufacturers shows they want to get that right."
Champion of community
Burdzy said Champion wants to play an even larger role in the community and is looking for ways to be part of major events. Morinville residents are a huge part of the workforce at the plant, he noted.
"The intention is we take from the community and we want to give back to the community as well."
As the installation of the new equipment continues the company has also set up a toll-free number and email to take concerns and complaints.
The phone number is 1-855-784-0340 and the email address is [email protected].
