Packers aims to ‘unleash pork business’

Maple Leaf Foods has finalized its spinoff of Canada Packers Inc., making its pork plants in Manitoba and Alberta a separate company.

As of Wednesday, the pork processing plant in Brandon became part of Canada Packers.

“It’s been a while to get here, but I feel great, and especially from the Brandon perspective,” president and CEO Dennis Organ said Wednesday.

“One of the things that we’re talking about is unleashing the pork business.”

The corporate split will allow the 6,355 Richmond Ave. East plant to grow in production and create more jobs, Organ said.

“We’re going to grow,” he said. “That’s what it really means, is we have a growth strategy. We think we can grow our top line processing volume numbers.”

The company’s flagship plant in Brandon has already seen an increase in staff numbers during the past year, he said, but this will enhance that growth.

In July, the former Maple Leaf Foods plant received $1,095,000 in funding from the provincial government to upgrade the plant’s split saws, which cut pig carcasses. The addition was to improve speed and efficiency and limit waste.

At the time, the plant processed 16,000 pigs a day. It currently employs about 2,200 staff, according to the Canada Packers website.

“By doing more volume, we’ll be adding more jobs,” Organ said.

“We’re making plans to build for the next 100 years. So, Brandon will remain — we’re working to build the hog infrastructure and the surrounding farms in Manitoba to also support that growth.”

Aside from the name change and expected growth, nothing changes for the Brandon plant or its processes, Organ said.

Canada Packers had been operating as a wholly owned subsidiary of Maple Leaf Foods since July, and had been operating as a division of Maple Leaf Foods before that. The Canada Packers brand dates back to 1927.

The creation of the spinoff was passed in June with 99.94 per cent approval from all Maple Leaf Foods shareholders and 99.88 per cent support from public shareholders, excluding holdings by the McCain family.

Organ said the split from Maple Leaf Foods was due to economics and being able to focus specifically on the pork business. He said that includes a focus on the Brandon plant.

“Now that we’re unleashed, we can focus on things like growing Brandon and just pork-specific initiatives,” Organ said.

“It would have been a little bit more difficult under the old arrangement, but it’s primary focus right now.”

Canada Packers currently has three plants in operation — in Brandon, Landmark and Lethbridge, Alta. It also has an idle plant in Winnipeg. The headquarters is in Mississauga, Ont.

The change also means that Canada Packers will begin operating on the Toronto Stock Exchange starting today as “CPKR.”

Maple Leaf Foods continues to hold a 16 per cent ownership interest in Canada Packers, and will continue to work side by side in the prepared meats business, the company said in a press release.

The Sun reached out to Maple Leaf Foods, but didn’t hear back on Wednesday.

In July, the Sun reported that the new Maple Leaf Foods Sports Complex in northeast Brandon would keep its name. Organ said to “stay tuned” on whether that is still the case, as Maple Leaf Foods no longer has a presence in the Wheat City.

» alambert@brandonsun.com