Ontario Government announces $1 Million partnership with Grand River Foods
[July 27, 2011]
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CAMBRIDGE — A $1-million grant from the province is helping Grand River Foods purchase new food processing equipment and add jobs.
The funding is being allocated under the province’s rural economic development program.
The provincial money is part of a $7-million expansion project started last year and completed two weeks ago, Grand River president Craig Richardson said Tuesday in an interview.
The project includes a $4.5-million addition at the company’s Vondrau Drive plant in Cambridge and $2.5 million for specialized equipment, engineering, surveying and consulting costs, he said.
The federal government also contributed funds to the project through FedDev Ontario, he noted.
The provincial cash created 20 new jobs at the facility, pushing total employment above the 300 mark, Richardson said.
More important, the addition and new equipment will enable the company to grow by 50 per cent over the next year and add another 60 jobs, he said.
With interest rates remaining low and government funding available, the company decided the timing was right to expand, he said.
Grand River processes chicken, and also beef and vegetarian food, into frozen, private-label products for restaurants and food retailers across Canada and parts of the U.S.
Customers include President’s Choice, Sobeys, Subway, East Side Mario’s and Wal-Mart.
The 21-year-old company opened its Cambridge plant in 2005. All of its slaughtering is done at a separate Grand River plant in Beamsville, Ont.
For more information on the R.E.D. program, visit http://www.omafra.gov.on.ca/english/rural/red/
(Article courtesy of therecord.com)
