HyLife makes major acquisition

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This article was published 09/05/2020 (2157 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Manitoba-based pork producer and processor HyLife announced the acquisition of another Manitoba-based hog company earlier this week.

HyLife, which is based out of La Broquerie and operates a large pork processing plant in Neepawa, bought Steinbach-based ProVista Agriculture’s hog-farming operations.

ProVista’s operations include 37,000 sows, as well as nursery and finishing barns in southeastern Manitoba, the Red River Valley, the RM of Westbourne and southeastern Saskatchewan.

Kevin Geisheimer, HyLife’s marketing and events manager, told the Sun via phone on Friday that the acquisition of ProVista will expand his company’s annual hog production capacity by one million to an approximate annual total of 3.3 million.

He said the proximity of ProVista’s barns to HyLife’s facilities was an important factor in the deal, with the majority of the acquired facilities being located in southeast Manitoba. The two companies also have a long history of working together.

Geisheimer said all 252 ProVista employees are being given the opportunity to move over to HyLife. However, ProVista founders and brothers Arthur and Howard Rempel will eventually move on after the completion of the transitional period.

“This acquisition will secure supply for our nursery and finishing barns going forward and really, pork processing operations in Neepawa,” he said. Before the deal, HyLife acquired approximately 25 per cent of its weanlings from ProVista.

According to Geisheimer, this deal won’t lead to any immediate growth, expansions or the hiring of new staff at the Neepawa plant, but will give the company the opportunity to do so going forward.

“At the end of the day, this basically secures our hog supply for the most part,” he said. “It’s not going to mean any necessary growth at our plant in Neepawa today.”

The Sun reached out to ProVista for comment on the deal, but the company declined an interview and referred the matter to HyLife.

Financial terms of the deal have not been disclosed to the public.

Asked about how the HyLife plant in Neepawa is faring during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, Geisheimer said there haven’t been any diagnosed cases at the facility.

Several meat processing plants in the United States and Canada have had to deal with temporary shutdowns due to workers being diagnosed with the virus, causing supply-line backlogs across the continent. While Maple Leaf has had some of its meat-processing plants affected, its pork plant in Brandon has not seen any cases at this point.

“It’s been quite the ride,” Geisheimer said. “We’ve been working diligently to keep our employees safe.”

He said that precautions being taken inside the Neepawa plant include masks, face shields and gloves for employees, monitoring employees’ temperatures and putting dividers to space out employees in their workspaces.

The company has also hired a public health expert to advise them on best practices and create a response plan. “If we ever do get a case, we have a plan in place,” Geisheimer said. “We’re acting as if it could happen tomorrow.”

HyLife’s website says that it employs 1,275 people at its pork processing plant in Neepawa and is the single-largest employer in that community.

» cslark@brandonsun.com

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