Cavendish Farms opens frozen potato processing plant in Alberta

Canadian frozen potato and appetiser producer Cavendish Farms has opened a C$430m ($322m) processing plant in Lethbridge, Alberta.

The new frozen potato processing facility will replace the company’s previous plant and is expected to triple its production capacity in Lethbridge.

Cavendish Farms president Robert Irving said: “It is a great day for Lethbridge and for our employees, growers, suppliers and customers. Our new state-of-the-art plant is up and running and will allow us to continue to serve key export markets around the world.

“There were many reasons we were able to expand our operation in Lethbridge and grow in Alberta. It starts with the availability of high-quality potatoes from local growers, the can-do attitude of our Lethbridge employees and the dedicated effort of the project team and the hundreds of vendors who contributed to this project.”

The Lethbridge plant will have the capacity to process 735 million pounds of potatoes annually and will employ 238 employees.

Alberta Premier Jason Kenney, Lethbridge Mayor Chris Spearman and other company officials were present at the opening ceremony for the facility.

Kenney said: “This is great news for Lethbridge, and for all those Albertans who will earn a living working at this potato processing plant. I would like to thank Cavendish Farms for making this important $430m investment in Alberta.

“Alberta’s food processing industry is growing in size and sophistication, and will be a key part of our government’s strategy to expand Alberta’s economy and create more jobs.”

During the peak construction period, the project employed 900 workers.

Cavendish Farms is part of the J D Irving Group of Companies.