Maple Leaf Foods is selling the assets of its prepared meats plant in Berwick, N.S., to Eden Valley Poultry, a new poultry processing company.
Eden Valley is made up of United Poultry Producers Inc., owned by poultry producers in Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island and Maple Lodge Holding Corp., the largest privately owned poultry processing company in Canada
The transaction is expected to close May 13, 2011.
The facility will be transformed into a plant that is expected to process more than 40 million kilograms of poultry annually.
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It is expected to open by the summer of 2012, employing about 200 people.
“This is a very positive outcome which will bring new opportunities for people currently employed at Berwick and the community of King’s County,” said Rick Young, executive vice-president, transformation, Maple Leaf Consumer Foods, in a news release.
“It also fulfils the commitment we made last November to find an alternate use for the plant that would leverage the benefits of the existing facility.”
Maple Leaf announced Nov. 17 it would close the plant, with production ceasing on April 29. Maple Leaf is reorganizing to concentrate its production in fewer plants in an effort to improve profitability.
Immediately upon the successful closure of the transaction, Eden Valley Poultry will begin decommissioning the facility with construction and retrofittingto commence as soon as possible.
