December 17, 2015
Governments Invest in Expansion of Locally Owned Food-processing Company
WINKLER—The governments of Canada and Manitoba will support the broader expansion of a family-owned food-processing company in Winkler with $250,000 in equipment upgrades, Federal Agriculture Minister Lawrence MacAulay and Manitoba Agriculture, Food and Rural Development Minister Ron Kostyshyn announced here today.
Spenst Brothers Premium Meats currently produces and sells deli meats, pizzas, buns, perogies, custom-cut and wrapped meats and other products. To meet consumer demand and food safety requirements, the company is planning a $2.3 million expansion. Government funding will support the purchase of more than $1 million of new equipment including packaging systems, conveyors, ovens and cooling equipment.
The company currently buys approximately $345,000 of ingredients from within Manitoba and employs 18 full-time staff. The expansion is expected to increase local purchases to nearly $1.9 million and full-time positions to 30 after three years.
The Growing Value program provides financial assistance to existing agri-businesses that need to make changes to adapt to market forces and environmental considerations, to increase their ability to compete in domestic and international markets.
The federal and provincial governments are investing $176 million in cost-shared programming in Manitoba under Growing Forward 2, a five-year, federal-provincial-territorial policy framework to advance the agriculture industry, helping producers and processors become more innovative and competitive in world markets.
Minister Kostyshyn noted this investment also supports the Manitoba government’s goal of creating a $5.5-billion food-processing industry by 2022.
Quotes
“Canadian food processors must continually adapt and upgrade to remain competitive. The Government of Canada is proud to make investments that help Manitoba agri-businesses grow and that create new opportunities for farmers.” – Federal Agriculture Minister Lawrence MacAulay
“Manitoba is committed to helping family-owned and local businesses grow because we recognize how important their success is to the community and our provincial economy. This new equipment will help Spenst Brothers Premium Meats increase production, improve efficiency and create new products, to ensure their future in Manitoba and within the food processing industry.” – Manitoba Agriculture, Food and Rural Development Minister Ron Kostyshyn
“When we opened in 2003, we were humbled by the level of support we immediately received first from the local Winkler area and then all of southern Manitoba. Today, we are again humbled and grateful for this investment in our business. As a family, we again commit ourselves to making Spenst Bros. Premium Meats a business that pays good returns on this investment, including new job opportunities for our local workforce and continued fundraising support for local schools, sports teams and mission organizations.” – Paul Spenst, general manager of Spenst Bros. Premium Meats
Additional Links
- Information on Growing Forward 2 can be found at www.gov.mb.ca/agriculture/growing-forward-2/or www.agr.gc.ca/eng/about-us/key-departmental-initiatives/growing-forward-2/?id=1294780620963.
- Information on Spenst Brothers Premium Meats can be found at http://spenstbros.com.
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