McCain launching $65M expansion of New Brunswick french fry plant
by Canadian Manufacturing.com Staff
Food company to add new production line, increase floor space at East Coast facility where it opened its first plant in 1957
McCain is adding a 32,000 square-foot expansion to its, Florenceville-Bristol, New Brunswick french fry plant to make way for a new production line. PHOTO: McCain
FLORENCEVILLE-BRISTOL, N.B.—McCain Foods is pouring money back into the small New Brunswick town where the global frozen food brand was born.
The company has announced it will invest $65 million to expand its Florenceville-Bristol, N.B. French fry plant, adding 32,000 square-feet to the plant floor and installing a new production line.
A response to growing customer demand for hash brown patties and other potato products, McCain expects the expansion project to create 40 to 50 new jobs.
“Consumers are demanding more choice than ever before,” Shai Altman, president of McCain Foods Canada, said. “This investment will help us meet that demand by expanding our existing product portfolio and developing new innovative potato specialties.”
Along with creating new jobs in the northwestern New Brunswick town, Dale McCarthy, the company’s vice-president of Integrated Supply Chain for North America, said the expansion will also spur increased demand for local spuds.
“We are probably going to need an additional 4,000 acres of potatoes or more to feed the new production line,” he said. “We will obviously buy all that we can locally, but we may have to even reach across borders to meet our needs.”
After getting its start in the small New Brunswick town nearly 60 years ago—McCain founders Harrison and Wallace McCain opened the original Florenceville-Bristol plant in 1957—the company said it is “delighted” to put money back into the town.
McCain plans to begin construction immediately and expects to complete the installation of the new line by late 2017 or early 2018.
