Old Dutch to expand Hartland plant
Published Tuesday August 3rd, 2010
Economy | Province to provide $15-million loan for expansion project
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By SHAWN BERRY
berry.shawn@dailygleaner.com
One of Canada's favourite snack food companies is looking to boost its New Brunswick operations.
Old Dutch Foods Ltd. will today announce that it's expanding operations at its Hartland plant.
The company, which makes tortilla chips and potato snacks, multigrain chips, extruded corn snacks, popcorn and party mix, will announce that it's adding 40 jobs to its 128-person workforce.
It plans to add a new packaging line, new equipment and more warehouse space.
Steve Aanenson, CEO of Old Dutch, will make the announcement today.
He'll be joined by Premier Shawn Graham and provincial Finance Minister Greg Byrne.
The province is providing a $15-million repayable loan to the company.
The expansion will see the company double the number of potatoes it processes.
Old Dutch buys from seven potato farmers in the Hartland area.
Byrne said he's confident potato farmers in the St. John River Valley will be able to meet the plant's demand for more supply.
He said the farmers have invested in state-of-the-art storage systems to ensure a steady supply of potatoes for the operation.
"It's certainly good news for the potato industry," Byrne said Monday. "And I think it is great news for the region.
"Adding 40 jobs in the rural community is significant, not to mention the increased demand for potatoes."
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Demand driving chip plant expansion, president says
Published Wednesday August 4th, 2010
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By REBECCA PENTY
Canadaeast News Service
A steady growth in potato chip demand and Old Dutch Foods Ltd.'s prime Hartland location are reasons enough to expand, says the company's president and CEO.
Steve Aanenson said Tuesday that the Hartland plant has been operating at capacity and Old Dutch Foods is gaining market share.
"It's pretty much based on existing sales and not any blue sky projections of any kind," Aanenson said of the expansion.
He said growth in demand for potato chips is small - in line with population growth - but has been consistent despite the recession.
The New Brunswick facility supplies New England states and New York and even has an account as far away as Florida, Aanenson said.
"Hartland is ideally situated to take advantage of a great potato supply, great growers, the costs are reasonable and the proximity to other major markets is terrific," he said, adding that trucking costs are lower leaving the province because of the imbalance between the large volume of products coming in versus the smaller volume of exports.
The provincial government is loaning the firm $15 million for the expansion project. Aanenson was in Hartland with government officials to share the news Tuesday.
The company's new packaging line, new equipment and increased warehouse space should add 40 full-time jobs to the 128 positions at the facility - mostly warehouse employees, production employees on the packaging line, electronics technicians and control system engineers - as well as 35-50 seasonal positions, Aanenson said.
The company will increase spending in the province by about $10 million per year on potatoes and other supplies, including cardboard shipping cases.
Increased exports of chip products should mean another 1,800 truck loads per year leaving New Brunswick for central Canada and the United States, he said.
Aanenson said bolstering the plant will mean sourcing another 35 million pounds of potatoes each year, which will double what the company buys from seven Hartland-area growers.
Joe Brennan, chairman of the provincial potato-growers association, Potatoes New Brunswick, said the expansion will help the few growers that supply the company, out of about 200 potato growers in the province.
"This is all good news," Brennan said, explaining the industry has had a tough go this year.
He pointed to the decline in potato sourcing of about 20 per cent by McCain Foods Ltd.'s Canada operations, announced in the spring.
Lower demand for french fries, the high value of the U.S. dollar and softer export markets contributed to the Florenceville-based company's decision.
Old Dutch Foods Ltd. was formed in Winnipeg in 1954, 20 years after the U.S.-based sister company Old Dutch Foods, Inc. started up in Minnesota.
Old Dutch acquired the New Brunswick plant when the company took over Humpty Dumpty Snack Foods Inc. in May 2006. Old Dutch has five Canadian potato chip facilities.
Aside from potato chips, the Hartland factory churns out extruded cheese snacks and party mix.