Peter Sakundiak did not invent the grain auger but his work has been instrumental in making it a common sight on Saskatchewan farms while at the same time helping thousands of farmers load their grain. From his 50,000 square foot plant just north of Regina, Peter had seen thousands of his Sakundiak grain augers sold to farmers from coast to coast, including Atlantic Canada where cattlemen use them to move grain.
Peter left his parents farm at Mikado in eastern Saskatchewan when he was 18 years old. His first job was on Jerome Bechard's farm southeast of Regina, his second as a hand on his brother's farm. Then things began to change.
Sakundiak Farm Equipment erected its first plant during the winter of 1947-48. Located in the 500 block of Broad Street, it housed only two or three employees who were engaged in the construction of a disc harrow. The original units were based on a design created by Peter's brother Alex. But the disc harrow business was short-lived, due to rising production costs, limited floor space, and a sudden twist of luck.
It was only a few years after grain augers appeared in North America that a farmer came into the plant asking if he could get one specially built because they were not readily available in Canada. That simple request launched a multimillion-dollar industry headquartered in Regina. That first grain auger was only 24 feet long with a 6-inch diameter. Peter Sakundiak used the original model as a basis for future designs, eventually obtaining a patent on a unique aspect, the self-levelling motor, in 1965.
Once the auger manufacturing business was started it did not take long for the small Broad Street plant to become inadequate. So the firm took up residence in a larger building on Dewdney Avenue in the early 1950s. But business boomed and in only five years the company again needed more space. That prompted another move and the firm built a new cinder block building on the new Sakundiak farm 12 miles south of Regina on Highway Six. The new building housed the manufacturing activities while the Sakundiak home, across the yard, became the new head office.
Opening the office in the family home made it inevitable that other family members would become involved, handling telephone calls and inquiries. Peter's wife Ella became especially active at this point, looking after the office whenever her husband was out in the plant supervising production. His son Larry simply grew up with it, taking an active interest and becoming company vice-president. Peter's daughter, Sharon, also became involved. She and her husband, Lloyd Ottenbreit, work for the firm today.
This family enterprise has seen major changes, tremendous growth, and some adversity. The Sakundiaks were sitting in the grandstand at the Regina Exhibition on August 2, 1964. At that instant a tornado was ripping through their yard, causing extensive damage. When the public address announcer told the crowd of the tornado, he mispronounced the Sakundiak name and it was not until sometime later that they learned of the destruction from a neighbour while wandering through the midway. They returned to the farm to find a woeful sight of nature's destructive powers. Two trucks had been destroyed. Auger components were strewn throughout the yard, including pieces in the farm dugout. The roof was torn off the manufacturing plant and pieces of asphalt were imbedded in the cedar siding on the house. The house itself, however, was miraculously missed. The destruction made frontpage headlines the next day but the best news was that no one was home at the time.
The Sakundiaks kept manufacturing newer, larger, and better augers through the 1960s and early 1970s. The drop in grain prices that reverberated through the entire prairie economy had little effect on their sales. Strangely enough, the drop did not hurt the Sakundiak company like it did many other businesses. The reason? Grain prices had dropped sharply but supplies had not. There was more grain on prairie farms than ever before. And that grain had to be moved so auger sales continued unabated.
As the grain auger market grew the Sakundiaks' need for space also grew. So in 1974, they moved into the new plant on the northern outskirts of Regina on Pasqua Street North. The facility incorporated some new equipment that enabled them to eliminate some suppliers by producing the components on-sight. The added floor space also helped meet the demand for increasingly larger loaders. The largest one currently produced is 85 feet long with a 12-inch diameter.
Through a system of agricultural implement dealers throughout Canada and the northern United States, Sakundiak Farm Equipment has become one of the largest grain auger suppliers in Canada and its marketplace continues to grow. In 1981 the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) purchased a number of Sakundiak's augers for shipment to Africa. Canada has been working with the Zambian government on a wheat development project and when they needed grain augers, they turned to Peter Sakundiak of Regina. Currently, Sakundiak Equipment also ships to Australia,and other locales worldwide.
On December 20th, 2005, Peter Sakundiak passed away leaving the company to his son and daughter who hope to push development into new and exciting areas of implement manufacturing.