Canada’s Drake Meats Building New Facility in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
Drake Meats, a Drake, Sask., Canada-based processor, announced it is building a new processing plant in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, said to be the company’s first major expansion, according to local news reports.
The Drake plant has been expanded over the years, the company told one news outlet, but the Saskatoon facility would be the first new construction for Drake Meats. The Saskatoon plant will be federally inspected, meaning the products could be sold outside the province — the company currently leases space in a federally inspected food center in Saskatoon to meet those regulations. Drake Meats expects the 40 employees working at the leased space in the Agri-Food Processing Plant to transfer to the new facility when it opens.
The company plans to invest CAD$50 million (about $36 million U.S.) to build the 53,000-sq.-ft. facility, and Cameron Johnson, executive chairman of Drake Meats, said it will be capable of producing 8 million kg. (more than 17 million lbs.) of product for the company annually. Further, it is viewed as the next step toward expanding distribution further into eastern Canada.
Drake Meats expects to finish the plant between June and September 2026, with 70 to 80 employees to start, ramping up to 200 workers at full operation.
About the Author
Andy Hanacek
Senior Editor
Andy Hanacek has covered meat, poultry, bakery and snack foods as a B2B editor for nearly 20 years, and has toured hundreds of processing plants and food companies, sharing stories of innovation and technological advancement throughout the food supply chain. In 2018, he won a Folio:Eddie Award for his unique "From the Editor's Desk" video blogs, and he has brought home additional awards from Folio and ASBPE over the years. In addition, Hanacek led the Meat Industry Hall of Fame for several years and was vice president of communications for We R Food Safety, a food safety software and consulting company.