Entrepreneurial Excellence Celebrated in Altona

Business excellence was in the spotlight Thursday evening as the Altona and District Chamber of Commerce hosted its annual awards banquet.

Taking home the award in the 11 employees or less category was Buffalo Creek Mills, an oat processing company located just north of Altona.

A relatively new establishment, Buffalo Creek Mills has seen some fast-paced growth since it began operating in 2014, expanding nearly 100 per cent year-over-year. The company also boasts 21 employees, up from just 2 when it first started.

CEO Ryan Penner says it is a special honour to be recognized.

"Like any company, we strive to provide a quality product and I think we work very hard to get there and there's many different levels in which to do that," he said, adding the job of achieving goals is never complete. "You're always looking to improve. It's a constant growth mechanism. It's at times like this where you take a little bit of pause and say 'We have come a fair ways in our goal of reaching some level of excellence'. I'm never going to say that we have reached (full) excellence."

Just in the last year, Buffalo Creek Mills has doubled its production capacity to accept over 250 truck loads per month, and recent improvements to its receiving facility also mean a Super-B truck can now be unloaded in 20 minutes. In addition, the company has constructed a new pellet mill that produces compact oat pellets for the feed and bio-fuel industry.

Penner says there are many people that deserve credit in helping the company see this kind of success.

First and foremost, he points to the shareholders that went out on a limb four years ago and were willing to put their vision, guidance and finances forward to make the operation a reality.

Second, Penner thanks the employees who he says have built Buffalo Creek Mills.

Beyond that, he says their team has relied on a large external contingent to help make the company a success. That list includes the contractors that have helped build the facility and financial institutions that stepped forward and supported the business along the way.

"These are all wonderful parts of the team," commented Penner.

Last but not least, he thanks the community, specifically the producers, for their support.

"When a new company comes on board and a producer has to choose where they want to market their grain, it takes a certain step of faith to go for it and say 'We will work with you and provide you the grain to process' and they have done that."

Earning the Business Excellence award in the 10 employees or less category was CrossFit Outland, a fully-coached healthy living facility in Altona.

Owner Daniel Maguet says the centre provides a place for people of all fitness levels to get stronger and improve their health in a positive and encouraging environment.

"Sometimes we're not as confident in our abilities versus someone else seeing what you can actually do and giving you that positive re-enforcement and saying 'You can go harder, you can do more than you actually think you can.' "

This is something Maguet says he see a lot.

"You start giving them things that they could not do before and discover what they can do now and, like for anyone, it's just super uplifting which keeps the journey going, we don't get frustrated. We see results and we see progression, therefore we keep wanting more."

Starting as a 600 square foot gym in 2015, CrossFit Outland has grown to 4,100 feet and includes various workout and nutrition programs for adults, teens and kids.

Always the entrepreneur, Maguet says he still wants to do more help people get active and healthy.

Pondering what the future could look like, Maguet would like to see the facility's square footage expand even further, noting the business is maxed out in the current space located in the town's industrial park. If the time would come where he could invest more into the business or allow for outside investors, Maguet says he'd like to build a fully operational fitness centre that would not only expand the CrossFit aspect and the menu of other programs already offered, but would also include a full machine-style gym that offers the professionalism and training that he says clients are looking for.