Olymel Will Expand La Fernandière Plant; Will Close Two Other Plants
Canadian pork and poultry processor Olymel has announced it will invest $104.3 million ($142 million CAD) on a major expansion of its La Fernandière plant in Trois-Rivières, Quebec. Work was expected to begin within a few days, with the expected start of operations slated for spring 2026, the company noted in a release.
Additionally, as part of Olymel’s overall efforts to optimize operations, the company announced it would permanently close its Anjou, Quebec, and Cap-de-la-Madeleine (also in Trois-Rivières), facilities in spring 2026. All personnel at those plants (140 at Anjou, 150 at Cap-de-la-Madeleine) will be offered positions at neighboring Olymel plants, in particular the newly built La Fernandière plant.
The La Fernandière plant currently processes sausages under the brand of the same name, and the expansion will allow the facility to handle a wider range of pork and poultry products. Furthermore, the facility will be able to fully process and package products on site, reducing the costs of transporting raw materials and improving efficiency. Olymel noted that new systems in the facility will be “optimized by artificial intelligence,” and the plant will serve as an innovation hub for new AI solutions for the company to deploy across the organization.
The plant will feature a continuous cooking line, as well as completely autonomous slicing, packaging, boxing, palletizing and transfer within the facility (autonomous vehicles). The expansion is expected to generate some 50 direct jobs, bringing the total number of workers at the plant up to 400.
