Bothwell Cheese expects no shortages in wake of fire

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This article was published 05/06/2024 (552 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Bothwell Cheese has halted production and is undergoing repairs at its New Bothwell facility following a fire June 1.

A “significant” amount of product remains available, however — if there are any shortages, they’ll be short-lived, according to Mike Langdon, vice-president of corporate affairs for Gay Lea Foods (parent company of Bothwell Cheese).

The facility located some 40 kilometres southeast of Winnipeg caught fire around 9:30 a.m. Saturday. The fire burned in an area of the plant focused on filtration.

The warehouse, which is separate and stores the company’s cheese, was not affected.

Langdon credits the Hanover Fire Department’s quick response to preventing further “significant damage” to the plant and for keeping its employees safe.

First responders extinguished the flames within a couple hours, Langdon said. Nobody was injured during the blaze.

Rural Municipality of Hanover Reeve Jim Funk said a breaker panel box caught fire, leading to the incident.

Gay Lea Foods doesn’t yet have a specific damage estimate. Currently, it’s working to assess repair costs. The company expects to return to “more regular operations” over the next several weeks, Langdon wrote in an email Wednesday.

Meantime, Bothwell Cheese employees are receiving their regular wages. Some employees are working their usual jobs, while others are focused on clean-up. A segment has been asked to stay off site during the repair process.

“Hopefully, employees get back to work (soon),” Funk said. “Something like this has a little bit of a chain reaction. Here it’s the plant, and next it’s the milk producers and the stores.”

Bothwell Cheese has won awards internationally for its products.