Weyburn will soon be home to a first-of-its-kind clean technology facility after Prairie Clean Enterprises (PCE) formally presented its plans to Weyburn City Council last week.
The Saskatchewan-based company is launching a plant that will process flax straw into industrial-grade fibre and premium pellets for animal care and consumer use. Construction at the site on Queen Street is set to begin in the coming months, with production expected to start by the end of August and full operations underway by September 2025.
CEO Mark Cooper said the decision to choose Weyburn was driven by several factors, including access to nearby flax straw, available industrial space, and what he described as a welcoming business environment.
“Weyburn’s fantastic because it’s close to the available flax straw, it has industrial space available for us, great workforce, and the community is just very welcoming,” Cooper told Discover Weyburn following the presentation. “Right from day one, the mayor, council, and city staff have been so inviting for us to build our business here.”
Cooper noted that building permits are expected to be approved within the next 60 days. Equipment will begin arriving in July and continue through August, coinciding with on-site construction and installation work.
Once operational, the facility is expected to create over 30 full-time jobs, with additional positions indirectly supported in trucking, field logistics, and straw baling. PCE also plans to purchase roughly 30,000 tonnes of flax straw from area producers as part of its 2025 supply needs.
The company said Weyburn’s skilled labour force and access to local training institutions like the regional college and high schools were key factors in the decision. Cooper said he hopes the facility will also attract workers who have left the area and are interested in returning.
“We think that the workforce has the skill sets we need and experience working in equipment and industrial settings,” he explained. “There’s going to be a good draw for the kind of jobs we can offer here.”
While similar ventures have been attempted before, Cooper said PCE has taken a methodical, long-term approach to ensure the project’s viability.
“We’ve put five years of effort into building the foundation for a business that is rock-solid,” he said. “We’re not just an idea now, we actually have traction. We’ve ordered equipment, we’ve got customer orders ready to fulfill, and we’ve actually fulfilled orders in the past. So this is more than an idea. It’s a business, and it’s one that’s going to be here in Weyburn.”
