J. R. Simplot Co. will delay construction of its new potato processing plant at Portage la Prairie in Canada by a year.
Rick Fisch, vice president of special projects, said, "We just underestimated the time and effort required, and this delay provides a reasonable time frame for completion of all facets of the project."
Construction of the C$120-million plant will start in June 2002 and begin operating in the spring of 2003. It will have a capacity of about 300 million pounds of french fries and other frozen potato products.
The company said more time was needed to complete the environmental review and licensing process. "We remain optimistic about the outcome of this process," Fisch stated.