Canadian poultry and pork producer Olymel has announced to invest $11m to expand and modernize its pork processing plant at St-Henri-de-Lévis, Quebec.
The investment will be used to establish new equipment at the facility which is likely to increase its efficiency and also production volume from 40 million to about 60 million kilograms annually.
Olymel president and CEO Réjean Nadeau said: "Olymel continues to invest in modernizing and developing operations at its processing facilities in order to better meet the needs of customers and markets.
“This $11m investment in St-Henri-de-Lévis is part of our commitment to remain a leader in our industry in Quebec and Canada, and to improve our competitive edge. To achieve its growth goals, Olymel has invested more than $250m since 2015 in both its pork and poultry sectors.”
According to Olymel, the expansion work will begin this month and following its completion, the plant will have an added area of 170,000ft2.
The company plans to add smokers, chillers and production and packaging equipment in the coming days to expand production of ham and other smoked products.
It also expects to add 30 more employees to its current strength of 530 at the plant.
Last month, Olymel announced that it would invest $80m jointly with Groupe Robitaille to expand its plant in Yamachiche, Quebec. Expansion at this plant is expected to be completed in the next three years while creating 350 more jobs.
Olymel, which employs around 11,000 people, exports to more than 65 countries. It claims to have recorded annual sales of about $3bn.
