Quebec cheese maker gets $3.9M from feds to automate production lines
by Canadian Manufacturing.com Staff
Funding for Fromagerie Bergeron's ongoing expansion to improve the competitiveness came from the federal government's Dairy Processing Investment Fund
SAINT-ANTOINE DE TILLY, Que.—Quebec cheesemaker Fromagerie Bergeron has received $3.9 million in non-repayable federal funding to install robotic equipment and further automate its production lines.
Bergeron says the new production lines will help it market sliced, grated and different cheese sizes, in addition to raising its cheese production capacity and buying more milk from dairy producers.
Fromagerie Bergeron’s ongoing expansion is expected to lower production costs, use more milk components in cheese production and improve the company’s competitiveness.
“Roger and Mario Bergeron are great examples of forward-looking dairy processors focused on improving their company’s productivity, modernizing their equipment, and enhancing dairy products,” said Jean-Claude Poissant, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food.
The expansion project is supported by the Dairy Processing Investment Fund, a $100-million program providing funding to improve dairy processors’ productivity and competitiveness, and help them prepare for market changes from the Canada-European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA).
“This demonstrates support for our industry in the current international context,” said Roger Bergeron, président of Fromagerie Bergeron “This contribution will allow us to support, in part, the modernization projects at Fromagerie Bergeron to deal with strong competition and to protect jobs and products here and across the country.”
Fromagerie Bergeron is a family-owned, medium-scale enterprise which specializes in Gouda-style firm cheese, employing 250 workers.
