Case Study

Horizon Fertilizers
A study in Restructuring a Business Model

Horizon Fertilizers Ltd. was formed in Humboldt, Saskatchewan as a joint venture between Cargill Grain Ltd. and a local crop inputs dealer in 1997. Originally the company handled a wide variety of fertilizers, crop protection products, and seed. However, over time it branched out into Flaman Rentals, Sales and Fitness, Outback GPS systems, and more recently Traeger BBQ's. It employs 10 fulltime staff supplemented with up to 9 part time staff during the busy season. Horizon Fertilizer has expanded beyond Humboldt, and is now also serving the Bruno and Lake Lenore trading areas.

Project Profile
Over the years, Horizon Fertilizers has enjoyed rapid growth and has evolved into a very successful business. The two founding partners, Dave Wuchner and Gary Pappenfoot, decided to support this growth by taking on a third shareholder (Lonnie Gobeil). This decision forced them into finding an efficient method of restructuring their business model.

This process required discussion of corporate reorganization, capital gains use, small business deduction limits, shareholder agreements, and funding methods. We worked with the three shareholders, their tax accountants, and their lawyers to implement the procedures to achieve this goal. We also discovered methods that reduced both current and on-going tax costs to provide valuable savings to the corporation and the shareholders personally.

Since then we continue to work with Horizon Fertilizers to expand their ability to take advantage of more benefits from this effective business organization model.

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