Say cheese! Saputo expansion to double size of local workforce

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This article was published 13/09/2013 (4599 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Canada’s largest dairy producer is doubling down in Brandon.

Work has started to increase the size of the dairy plant owned by Saputo, Inc., a project expected to be completed sometime in 2014 that will double the size of its workforce.

A company spokesperson based in Montreal was unable to provide any details on the project that started in early summer, though the city says the expansion will translate into roughly 60 new jobs.

“What we do know is their intent is to be fully operational in 2014,” said Sandy Trudel, the city’s director of economic development, who added the project will add 40,000 square feet to the facility.

The plant’s expansion, according to Trudel, is meant to accommodate new products, including a cottage cheese line to be distributed throughout Western Canada, which Trudel said is great news for the city’s economy.

“Those new positions are then in turn extra money that is circulating within the community, when we see the ripple effects passing down,” Trudel said.

Unlike other food processing giants in the area, Trudel said Saputo doesn’t draw employees from outside the country to fill positions.

“We haven’t worked with them at all on the temporary foreign worker program, so to my knowledge, they’re meeting their labour needs within Canada,” Trudel said.

Trudel said the expansion, which was announced in February, is the best type of growth for the city — growth from within.

“When we work to grow the local economy, we look at it from a business retention side, that’s where we like to see growth,” Trudel said. “They’re already connected with our community, so this is a win on many fronts … this is a prime example of what we in the economic development world like to see, an existing company expanding.”

Saputo manufactures, distributes and imports cheese, fluid milk, yogurt, dairy ingredients and snack-cakes, under 600 brand names including Dairyland, Neilson, Baxter and Vachon.

Brandon is a beneficiary of the Montreal-based company’s move to save $6 million by closing down smaller operations, according to a previous release. In November of last year, Saputo said it plans to shutter a Winkler cheese plant in January 2014, which employs around 40 people.

Although the company didn’t say how much the local expansion would cost, according to the release issued in the winter, the cheese producing giant is pouring $36 million into fixed assets in 2014.

“Saputo has maintained efforts to pursue additional efficiencies and decrease costs while strengthening its market presence,” the company statement read.

Just weeks before the Winkler announcement, the company solidified its position as North America’s second-largest dairy company by purchasing American-based Morningstar Foods for US$1.45 billion — the biggest acquisition in Saputo’s history.

» gbruce@brandonsun.com