Ilta Grain held an open house Friday just west of Portage la Prairie in the Bloom area. Ground was broken at their new prime location by the railway and Trans-Canada highway back in January. Manitoba operations manager Dustin Unger introduces the event.

Dustin Unger"We're doing an opening for the growers to come in and meet the Ilta team and get to know us, and give them a tour of the facility and show them what kind of a state-of-the-art facility we're putting in. This plant is just focusing on edible beans today, and who knows what for the future. Full start-up date we're looking for is November 1st to be fully functional. We can receive product for harvest beginning September 1st. But to be actually functioning and shipping product out to end users will be November 1st."

Dan BurneskiIlta president Dan Burneski was there, and says he expects edible beans to be in high demand in the future.

"We think it's a business that's got lots of room to expand. I think the growers here will continue to increase acreage of edible beans in the future as some of the other crops maybe aren't as lucrative as they should be for them. And we're happy to be moving in here."

Operations manager Dustin Unger outlines his part with the company.

Ivan Sabourin"I just started with Ilta this past week. I'll be responsible for doing all the marketing of the beans that come out of here. And I'll be assisting Ilta with the marketing of other products out of Saskatchewan. My main job will be marketing the beans out of here, pricing them and finding buyers."