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last update:Jul 24, 2008
Canadian pork plant put up for sale
Canadian food company Maple Leaf Foods has started up
the process to sell Ontario's largest pork plant before the end of the year.
At the moment, the company is soliciting bids for the plant in Burlington,
Ontario, and anticipates a sale will be completed by the end of this year.
The Toronto-based food company's plant now employs about 1,200 people
and processes about 42,000 pigs per week, about 16% below its capacity of
50,000.
Re-orientation
Maple Leaf's decision to sell the plant
is the consequence of a re-orientation towards more value-added products. The
transition involves the sale of primary processing businesses.
"Our
Burlington business is well established, with long-standing customer
relationships, a skilled and stable workforce and an excellent mix of
value-added business," said Michael Vels, chief financial officer of Maple Leaf
Foods in a press release.
"It operates one of the more efficient pork
processing plants in North America, strategically located close to high density
markets. Our investments in the plant and our people have resulted in a
profitable business that represents an excellent investment in the global pork
processing industry."
Reorganisation
Maple Leaf announced the
major reorganisation of its meat processing operations in October 2006, shutting
or selling several plants across Canada.
The ultimate goal of the
reorganisation was for Maple Leaf to meet all its future requirements for fresh
pork through one pork slaughter and processing plant at Brandon, Manitoba,
supported by that plant's expansion to a double shift.
The Burlington
facility became part of Maple Leaf in 1991 and slaughtered 2.2 million pigs in
2007. The company expects slaughter volumes to be consistent with that level
this year.
Related website:
• Maple Leaf
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