The federal government is investing $5.4 million in P.E.I. dairy producer Amalgamated Dairies Ltd. to “modernize” its Summerside plant — part of the company’s largest ever expansion.
Agriculture and Agri-Food Minister Lawrence MacAulay made the announcement during ADL’s annual general meeting on Monday.
$4.4 million of the funding is being provided through the federal government’s Dairy Processing Investment Fund — a four-year investment program by the federal government to help Canadian dairy processors improve their operations. The other $1 million is from the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency.
The cash is for the Island dairy producer to reduce production costs, increase the volume of milk it buys from dairy producers and to develop new products.
The provincial government is also providing an enrichment tax credit so that when ADL completes construction of the expansion, it submits a bill to the province, who will pay about 25 per cent of the bill. The whole project is expected to cost $19 million, so the province’s share contribution would be an estimated $4.47 million.
Jim Bradley, CEO of ADL, said in a news release that the funding also allows the dairy producer to expand cheese production and storage as well as improve processing equipment and to seek new markets.
“The ADL Water Street cheese plant expansion will increase production capacity by 40 per cent and increase storage capacity by 30 per cent,” he said.
In an interview, he explained the company has to expand to meet growing supply and demand.
“There’s 20 per cent additional capacity, additional milk being produced on the farm,” he said. “We have to be ready to receive that at the plant and process it, so we’re really starting the front end of the plant working our way right back through including storage and shipping facilities.”
ADL has been in business since 1953 and is celebrating its 65th anniversary this year.
Source: CBC news