Legumex Walker Subsidiary Pacific Coast Canola Signs Six-Month Canola Oil Contract with Truck-Delivered Customer in Washington State

WINNIPEG, Jan. 15, 2014 /CNW/ - Legumex Walker Inc. (TSX: LWP) (the "Company") today announced that its Pacific Coast Canola (PCC) subsidiary has finalized a six-month contract to deliver by truck a portion of its super degummed canola oil to Imperium Renewables, a local biofuel company.

"We are proud to partner with Imperium, one of our local Washington State customers benefitting from our close proximity and load-out capabilities which allows us to ship multiple types of oil to our customers' specifications," said Matt Upmeyer, Chief Operations Officer at PCC.   "Coupled with the strong demand for canola oil and meal from our core food processing customers, the Imperium contract is another big step as we bring our facility to full capacity, which is great news for local canola farmers."

"The biofuel industry is an important complementary market for our canola oil, and crush margins for oil produced for that market are currently in line with oil produced for our core food processing market," said Joel Horn, President and Chief Executive Officer, Legumex Walker Inc. "Importantly, the Imperium business, because it is delivered by truck, helps relieve the outbound logistical challenges we are facing due to the North America-wide rail congestion problem."

Mr. Horn added, "We continue to experience tremendous demand for PCC's high-quality products. However, North American rail congestion is now affecting our inbound delivery of seed from the Canadian prairies  and North Dakota. While there is a large amount of seed available, the rail congestion is making us work harder to get the quantities we need to bring PCC to full capacity. This short-term challenge underscores the power of our local seed sourcing and product delivery strategy, as the rail congestion also impacts local customers' ability to bring in canola oil and meal from long distances in a timely and predictable manner. As the local canola seed acreage in the Pacific Northwest continues to grow PCC will be able to process and deliver oil and meal to these customers on a much more reliable  and economical basis. This is great news for us, our customers, and for our local farmers growing canola seed."

"This milestone agreement with Pacific Coast Canola will help us fully realize the potential of renewable biofuels in Washington," said Imperium CEO John Plaza. "Canola grown by Pacific Northwest farmers will be processed by PCC, and that oil will be made into biodiesel by Imperium at our refinery in Hoquiam, WA and shipped to consumers in the region and around the world. Using locally sourced canola oil produced by PCC will help us produce fuels that meet low-carbon fuel standards required by law in California and British Columbia, as well as biodiesel market demands in Oregon and Washington and the global marketplace. We are very excited to be working with PCC to see this vision through."

Founded in 2004, Seattle-based Imperium Renewables is a global leader in next generation biofuel production. Imperium's Hoquaim facility is the world's largest BQ-9000 certified biodiesel refinery, and is capable of producing up to 100 million gallons per year of pure B100 biodiesel refined from the most sustainable and environmentally friendly feedstock oils available. Low-carbon fuel standards mandate not only that fuel be refined from less carbon heavy materials such as petroleum, but also take into account the carbon emitted during the growth, production, distribution and use of those fuels.

About Legumex Walker Inc.

Legumex Walker is a growth-oriented processor and merchandiser of special crops (sunflower seed, flax and canary seed), pulses (lentils, peas, beans and chickpeas) and canola products. The Company is one of the largest processors of special crops and pulses in Canada.  Legumex Walker has 15 processing facilities strategically located in key growing regions in the Canadian Prairie Provinces, the American Midwest, and China, global sales, logistics, and distribution platform and access to multimodal transportation capabilities. In addition, the Company has an 84 percent interest in Pacific Coast Canola, LLC, which operates the first and only commercial-scale canola oilseed processing facility west of the Rocky Mountains.

Cautionary Note on Forward-looking Statements

This press release contains certain forward-looking statements which include statements with respect to PCC's ability to source locally grown canola seed and to reach plant capacity.  Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may result in the sales contracts. to change. Such risks and uncertainties include, among others, the risk that locally grown canola seed may not be available to PCC in quantities and prices anticipated and that sufficient canola seed may not be available at projected prices to reach plant capacity, as well as those factors referred to in the section entitled "Risk Factors" in the Company's Management's Discussion and Analysis for the period ended December 31, 2012 and the Company's 2013 Annual Information Form, which are available on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. There can be no assurance that forward-looking statements will prove to be accurate as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements.  Although the Company believes the assumptions inherent in forward-looking statements are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on these statements, which only apply as of the date of this press release. The Company expressly disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except in accordance with applicable securities laws.

SOURCE: Legumex Walker Inc.

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