Canadian Poultry Magazine

Olymel to expand its St-Damase primary poultry processing plant

By Olymel   

Features Processing Production Business/Policy Canada

May 9, 2016 – Olymel is actively pursuing development of its operations in the poultry sector with the announcement of a $10 million investment in the expansion of its primary poultry processing plant at St-Damase in the Montérégie for the installation of an air chilling room. The Olymel facility in St-Damase, which specializes in chicken slaughtering and butchering, will soon have additional production capacity, enabling it to better serve its clientele, including the rotisserie sector and the retail distribution sector. The plant will enjoy more flexibility, since it will acquire a chicken air chilling system while retaining the current water cooling process. This new production component at the St. Damase facility is expected to create ten new jobs.

“This major investment in our St-Damase plant reflects the dynamism of the poultry sector. Olymel will soon be announcing another major investment at its Brampton, Ontario poultry further processing facility. Our company is equipping itself to better meet demand from its customers by boosting its production capacity, which also benefits the entire poultry sector in Quebec. In terms of volume, Olymel is now the number one poultry processing company in Canada. This new investment in St-Damase and projects elsewhere in the poultry sector, both completed and planned, will also help to consolidate our presence on the markets, while generating important spinoffs for poultry producers,” noted Olymel L.P. President and CEO Réjean Nadeau.

The expansion work, which will begin around May 15, will add 15,000 square feet to the rue Principale plant in St. Damase, bringing its total area to over 95,000 square feet. It will be remembered that after a major fire, the plant was completely rebuilt in 1997. The facility employs more than 350 employees on two shifts. In addition to serving private customers with fresh products and various cuts of poultry, the St-Damase plant also supplies Olymel further processing plants, including the plant in nearby Ste-Rosalie. The expansion should be completed in September, and will not affect the normal conduct of the plant’s operations.

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This investment by Olymel in the poultry sector is in addition to a $10 million investment the firm made in the poultry further processing plant at Ste-Rosalie, Montérégie, in 2015. With that investment, Olymel added a third cooking line, which increased the volume of cooked chicken products manufactured there by 40%. Through these investments, Olymel is intensifying its initiatives to add value to house brands such as Olymel and Flamingo, and has also increased its production capacity, making it better able to serve private labels.


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