The injection will create 260 new jobs at its facility, bumping its workforce from 225 to 485 people
An employee holds a plate of French fries at a McCain French fries factory.Photo by MARTIN BUREAU /AFP via Getty Images
McCain Foods will spend $600 million to double the size of its potato processing plant near Lethbridge, the company announced Monday.
The Toronto-based french fry giant said the injection will create 260 new jobs at its facility in Coaldale, Alta., boasting the investment is the largest in the company’s history.
The expansion will create two new production lines at the Coaldale plant. When operational, both hourly and salaried employees will be hired to work on those lines, McCain said, bringing the workforce at the site up to 485 employees from the 225 currently working there.
“This will fuel continued growth for the business, allowing us to serve key markets further by bringing customers high quality potatoes that begin with our dedicated local farming community,” said McCain Foods president and CEO Max Koeune in a news release.
Project boasts several green initiatives
The project will also include wind turbines and solar panels, the company said, providing 100 per cent renewable electricity for the Coaldale site.
McCain added it plans to maximize renewable biogas generated via its wastewater treatment process to transport to steam boilers and offset natural gas use, and said a water recycling system is also planned to produce clean potable water to be used during manufacturing.
The company announced in 2021 its goal to cut reduce its overall carbon emissions by 50 per cent by 2030. That also includes moving to its policy of only sourcing potatoes from farms which practice “regenerative agriculture,” a term used to describe farming practices which activity revitalize soil quality.
The Lethbridge-Coaldale-Taber corridor in southern Alberta is home to several major potato processing operations, making it a key region for the province’s value-added agriculture sector.
Harry Miller is a writer and editor based in Toronto who has Ten years of experience in the journalism industry. Before coming to Canada News Media as a National Online Journalist, Miller worked as a senior writer and a reporter-editor with the Canadian Press and a breaking news reporter with the Toronto Star.
Miller currently holds two bachelor’s degrees, one in journalism from Ryerson University and another in communications and film studies from Carleton University.
