The Canadian government will provide Canada-based dairy processor Amalgamated Dairies Ltd (ADL) with up to CAD 5.4 million ($4.3 million) in funding.
ADL claims the investment will help to fund the purchase of new equipment at the company’s Water Street cheese plant in Summerside, Canada, which will reduce production costs and enable ADL to increase the storage capacity for speciality cheese products and packaging materials.
CAD 4.4 million ($3.5 million) of the investment has been directed from the Canadian government’s Dairy Processing Investment Fund, which has been established by the Canadian government to allow dairy processors in the country to modernise their operations and increase productivity.
The remaining CAD 1 million ($788,000) will be a repayable contribution from the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency (ACOA) Business Development Programme.
Jim Bradley, CEO, Amalgamated Dairies Ltd said: “The funding announced under the AAFC Dairy Processing Investment Fund and ACOA will provide ADL the ability to adapt to the new realities in the Canadian dairy industry and invest in the infrastructure and innovation that are needed to grow and diversify our business into the future.
“The ADL Water Street cheese plant expansion will increase production capacity by 40% and increase storage capacity by 30%.
Improvements and modernization of processing equipment and technology will also allow ADL to work with our partners to diversify products and seek new markets.
“ADL is proudly owned by 165 family dairy farms and today’s announcement provides them the confidence to continue investing in their farm operations.”
Lawrence MacAulay, The Canadian government’s minister of agriculture and agri-food said: “ADL is a great example of the economic benefits that come from a strong dairy processing industry.
“The Government of Canada is glad to support this modernization project, which will strengthen PEI’s dairy industry, its food processing sector and the island’s overall economy.”
Last week, the Canadian government also invested CAD 3.9 million ($3 million) in Quebec-based dairy processor Fromagerie Bergeron as part of the Dairy Processing Investment Fund.
According to the Canadian government, the fund will see the government invest CAD 100 million ($78 million) in dairy processing companies between 2017 and 2021.
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