Maple Leaf sells doomed plant to poultry processor
The Canadian meat processing giant said it would be selling the Berwick site in Nova Scotia to Eden Valley Poultry, with the deal expected to close 13 May. The outfit is a new poultry processing company made up of United Poultry Producers Incorporated and Maple Lodge Holding Corporation.
Maple Leaf announced the closure of its prepared meats plant in Berwick on November 17, 2010 which will cease production on April 29, 2011. The 200,000 sq foot site employs 280 people.
The new plant is expected to re-open as a poultry processing facility in summer 2012, when it will employ 200 workers and process over 40m kg of poultry annually.
"We are very pleased to have reached this agreement that will result in the plant being converted into a new poultry primary processing facility," said Rick Young, executive vice-president, transformation, Maple Leaf Consumer Foods.
The company announced a string of closures across its Canadian meat operations late last year as part of an efficiency drive.
