BOUCHERVILLE, QUEBEC — Olymel, a Canadian pork and poultry producer, confirmed on June 10 its plans to expand its La Fernandière plant in Trois-Rivières with a C$142 million ($104 million) investment.

With the upgrades, the facility expects to go from manufacturing sausages now to expanding production to a broader range of pork and poultry products.

The updated integrated facility will also enable the full processing and packaging of materials on-site, reducing the need for transportation and enhancing productivity.

“We’re very proud to announce this major expansion of our Trois-Rivières plant. It’s a big step forward for Olymel,” said Yanick Gervais, chief executive officer of Olymel. “Having this state-of-the-art plant will create new possibilities for expansion and significantly improve our efficiency, which is central to our company’s performance. The project is perfectly aligned with our strategy of capitalizing on the creation of value-added products made with meat of superior quality that’s produced by local farmers.”

Work is expected to start in June, with the completion of the expansion in Spring 2026. The plant expects to create 50 new jobs, bringing the total number of employees in the building to 400.

In 2016, Olymel purchased the plant which produces La Fernandière brand sausages. The following year, it announced an expansion of the facility.

Olymel said the new systems will be optimized by artificial intelligence to optimize operations management. Technology upgrades include a new industrial battery system, a continuous cooking line, autonomous operations for slicing, packaging, boxing, and palletizing, and autonomous vehicles.

“The modernization of operations will result in more consistent production, to better meet the needs of our customers here and abroad,” Olymel said. “State-of-the-art equipment will allow the plant to utilize the latest packaging technology, for increased flexibility that fosters the use of eco-friendly solutions. By allying these technologies with our workers’ expertise, we will maximize our operational efficiency while placing a premium on the knowledge and experience of our teams.”

Olymel also explained how the new equipment will improve occupational health and safety, with the ergonomic equipment reducing the number of physically demanding tasks for employees.

In the sustainability area, the project will ensure optimized energy consumption through measures such as heat recovery, net-zero water-based cooking, and a heat exchanger to recover heat from wastewater.

The ham cooking systems also will develop closed-circuit water management, saving much more energy and water. Additionally, a primary and secondary water treatment plant will be constructed on-site, along with a necessary retention pond, to manage stormwater runoff.

With the expansion announcement, Olymel also stated the closure of two other plants. Starting in 2026, the plants in Anjou, Quebec and Cap-de-la-Madeleine, Quebec which currently employ 290, will be shuttered.

Olymel said all employees will be offered positions at neighboring Olymel plants, particularly the newly built facility, which will be located about seven miles from the Cap-de-la-Madeleine plant.

The company also has production and processing facilities in the provinces of Quebec, Ontario, Alberta, Saskatchewan and New Brunswick.

Over the last few years Olymel has announced several downsizing efforts.

Early in 2024, Olymel confirmed its plans to lay off 100 employees at its Red Deer, Alberta, plant. 

The meat processor also announced in May 2023 the closure of six sow units in Alberta and Saskatchewan, which caused 80 people to be laid off.

In April 2023, Olymel announced it would close a hog processing plant in Quebec that would lay off 994 employees. And in February 2023, Olymel stated it would close two other pork processing plants.