Sunnymel Announces Appointment of Manager of Clair, N.B. Plant

December 8, 2011 – The management of  Sunnymel, a partnership formed by Westco and Olymel, has announced the  appointment of Mr. Claude Chapdelaine to the position of manager of its future chicken slaughtering and cutting facility, currently under construction in the Village of Clair, New Brunswick.

December 8, 2011 – The management
of  Sunnymel, a partnership formed by Westco and Olymel, has announced
the  appointment of Mr. Claude Chapdelaine to the position of manager of
its future chicken slaughtering and cutting facility, currently under
construction in the Village of Clair, New Brunswick.

Mr. Chapdelaine has over 20 years experience  within Olymel. He served as manager of the chicken slaughtering and cutting  plant at St-Damase (Montérégie) from 2003 up to this recent appointment, and previously served in the same capacity at the hog slaughtering and butchering plant at Vallée-Jonction in the Beauce in Quebec. Prior to that he was employed by Salaisons Brochu.

Now 48 years old, Mr. Chapdelaine holds a Bachelor of Food Science and Technology from Laval University and an MBA from the same institution. In conjunction with teams already on site, he will be responsible for supervising construction of the future Sunnymel plant in the Village of Clair and planning startup of operations. Mr. Chapdelaine will also be responsible for relations with local officials and the community.

Preparatory work on the site of the future Sunnymel plant located in the Village of Clair began in August of this year. The construction phase, which includes laying foundations, installation of water pipes and erection of buildings, has  already started, ahead of schedule. Work is expected to extend over a one year period. The plant will have the latest equipment and technology and is designed to meet the highest standards of biosafety in the industry. Once in operation, the plant's weekly slaughtering capacity may reach 450,000 birds, allowing it to serve the entire Maritimes market from New Brunswick. Completion of this project will require an investment of over $40 million and is expected to create more than 250 jobs in Madawaska.