Provincial grant helps expand pork processing

Saturday, September 21, 2013

by MATT MCINTOSH

Ontario's provincial government is investing $1.5 million in Conestoga Meat Packers – a large Waterloo region processing plant that's expanding its storage capacity to meet market demands.

Conestoga Meat Packers is owned by a farm cooperative of 120 hog producers, and has completed two previous expansions in the last 12 years. The latest addition is expected to cost $14 million and will increase the plant’s production capacity by one third, and bring another 100 jobs to the area.

The announcement came September 17. It was made by Eric Hoskins, minister of economic development, trade, and employment.

The grant comes from the province's Southwestern Ontario Development Fund. It's a program designed to promote the growth and competitiveness of Ontario businesses, and is modeled after the Eastern Ontario Development Fund.

Hoskins says both programs have helped create over 21,000 jobs in the province.

The development fund itself is divided into a "business stream" for larger businesses, and a "regional stream" for smaller ones. But while qualifications may differ between them, the goals are the same: attract private investment, encourage innovation, and create jobs.

For Conestoga Meat Packers, staying competitive means adding 25,000 square feet of cooler space to their 110,000 square foot facility.

"We already process 15,000 hogs every week, but there's a lot of competition from  processors in Europe, Brazil, the United States, and other parts of Canada," says company president Arnold Drung. "We need to grow and invest to continue providing the best in great tasting, nutritious, Ontario pork." BF