Olymel investing in upgrades, expansion at Quebec plant

Olymel, a Canadian pork and poultry producer, confirmed on June 10 its plans to expand its La Fernandière plant in Trois-Rivières with a C$142 million ($104 million) investment.

With the upgrades, the facility expects to go from manufacturing sausages now to expanding production to a broader range of pork and poultry products.

The updated integrated facility will also enable the full processing and packaging of materials on-site, reducing the need for transportation and enhancing productivity.

“We’re very proud to announce this major expansion of our Trois-Rivières plant. It’s a big step forward for Olymel,” said Yanick Gervais, chief executive officer of 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.”

Work is expected to start in June, with the completion of the expansion in Spring 2026. The plant expects to create 50 new jobs, bringing the total number of employees in the building to 400.

In 2016, Olymel purchased the plant which produces La Fernandière brand sausages. The following year, it announced an expansion of the facility.

Olymel said the new systems will be optimized by artificial intelligence to optimize operations management. Technology upgrades include a new industrial battery system, a continuous cooking line, autonomous operations for slicing, packaging, boxing, and palletizing, and autonomous vehicles.