PRT Prince Albert Nursery - Prince Albert

PRT was founded in 1988 in response to a privatization initiative by the government of British Columbia. The company, then known as Pacific Regeneration Technologies Inc., was born from the efforts of a diverse group of employees who, together, purchased six forest seedling nurseries from the province.

Starting from scratch

PRT had no offices or money, but it had a business plan and a vision. Most importantly, it had the expertise and dedication of a strong team of employees. It was because of our team that PRT was able to expand from six nurseries to 10 in only a decade, doubling production to 90 million seedlings and tripling sales. It had a business plan but no offices and no money. What PRT did have was more valuable. The most important asset they brought was the employees’ expertise and dedication.

The company’s first decade would bear this out. By 1998, PRT had expanded from six to 10 nurseries, doubled production to 90 million seedlings, and tripled sales.

Building the PRT team

One of the initial challenges was our decentralized structure. Most businesses start out in one location and then gradually expand, but PRT started with six completely different groups of people in six far-flung locations. We quickly learned how to bring these sites together to work seamlessly for our customers. We now have a network of nurseries in Canada and the United States that offer the benefits of a local knowledge along with the experience and resources of a large forest nursery company.

Adapting to change

In 1987, the forest companies in Canada were required to take responsibility for replanting newly logged public land. The companies began to demand higher quality trees and container-grown seedlings, as these were easier to plant and performed better in the field. With a focus on container grown seedlings and through continuous innovation, PRT has grown to become the largest container grown forestry seedling in North America.

Achieving a five-billion seedling milestone

In 2022, PRT celebrates its 34th year in business, growing over five billion forest seedlings in North America. Reaching this milestone took vision, leadership and hard work. It also required ingenuity. From big innovations to small improvements, our employees found better ways to manage risks and to capture opportunities for customers.