Olymel to expand Trois-Rivières plant, close two other facilities in Quebec

Olymel is investing $142 million to expand its La Fernandière plant in Trois-Rivières, Que.

Work on the project is slated to begin this week, with the start of operations scheduled for spring 2026.

The expansion project will see the closure of Olymel’s Anjou and Cap-de-la-Madeleine facilities, which employ 140 and 150 people, respectively, in spring 2026.

Olymel said those personnel will be offered positions in neighbouring Olymel plants, particularly the newly built facility, which will be located a dozen kilometres from the Cap-de-la-Madeleine plant.

Fifty new jobs will be created at the Trois-Rivière plant, bringing the total number of employees up to 400.

Olymel said the facility currently manufactures sausages, but will expand production to include a wider range of pork and poultry products. 

It will also be converted into an integrated facility where products can be fully processed and packaged on site.

"We're very proud to announce this major expansion of our Trois-Rivières plant. It's a big step forward for Olymel. Having this state-of-the-art plant will create new possibilities for expansion and significantly improve our efficiency, which is central to our company's performance. The project is perfectly aligned with our strategy of capitalizing on the creation of value-added products made with meat of superior quality that's produced by local farmers," said Yanick Gervais, CEO of Olymel, in a press release.

New systems at the plant will be optimized by artificial intelligence. Technologies include a unique industrial battery system, a continuous cooking line, completely autonomous operations (slicing, packaging, boxing and palletizing) and autonomous vehicles.

Other features include new packaging technology and ergonomic equipment for workers. 

With a focus on optimizing energy consumption, other measures include heat recovery, net–zero water-based cooking, and a heat exchanger to recover heat from wastewater.

On-site industrial batteries will be used to store energy and better manage the plant's power consumption when the grid is at peak demand.

Additionally, the plant’s ham cooking systems will utilize closed-circuit water management, which saves much more energy and water.

A primary and secondary water treatment plant will be built on site, along with the necessary retention pond, to manage stormwater runoff.