Canadian meat processor Olymel has officially inaugurated its rebuilt integrated plant in Trois-Rivières, Quebec, completing one of the largest modernisation projects in the company's history, The Poultry Site reports. The project cost $142 million.

The plant now has an annual production capacity of 50 million kilograms, more than four times its original capacity, and handles pork and poultry processing, slicing and packaging under one roof. Besides La Fernandière sausages and hams, it now makes the vast majority of the deli meats Olymel sells across Canada.

"They worked tirelessly for over 15 months to bring this high-tech facility to life," chief executive Daniel Rivest said of the company's teams and partners, adding that Olymel was now better equipped to serve customers in Canada and abroad.

The company says the plant uses energy-efficiency, automation and artificial-intelligence technology in support of its goal of cutting operations-related greenhouse gas emissions by 25 percent by 2030. It includes an industrial battery system, described as a first for the Canadian industry, that stores power when demand is low and releases it at peak times to ease the load on the Hydro-Québec grid, as well as water-based rather than air-based cooking, heat recovery and closed-loop water management. These measures are expected to cut emissions by 3,000 tonnes of CO2 equivalent a year.

Announced in June 2025, the project brought its first new lines into production in May. The building grew from 51,700 to 137,200 square feet, about 100 jobs were created for a workforce of around 400, and $110 million in orders went to Canadian companies, more than $94 million of them in the Mauricie region.

Public partners provided more than $20.3 million, including a $15 million loan from Investissement Québec, $2 million from Quebec's agriculture ministry (MAPAQ), a $1.8 million grant from Hydro-Québec, $1.3 million from the provincial environment ministry and $250,000 from the city of Trois-Rivières.

Photo: Félix Mathieu-Bégin / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Source: The Poultry Site