Living the HyLife: pork producer finishes $176-M expansion

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This article was published 04/04/2018 (3057 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Manitoba pork processing company HyLife has completed a $176-million expansion and modernization of its Neepawa processing plant, making it one of the most sophisticated facilities of its kind in Canada.

Company officials said the capital investment was made in response to increasing market opportunities for the company in Japan, China, Mexico and South Korea, where export demand is focused on fresh chilled pork.

In addition to the investment in Neepawa, HyLife has also built a new feed mill in Killarney as well as barn production investments in western Manitoba. The new investments have created 165 additional jobs to bring the number of HyLife employees to 2,000 in Canada.

The governments of Canada and Manitoba have invested $2 million toward HyLife’s processing expansion through Growing Forward 2, the multilateral agreement that provides strategic investments in agricultural programming and projects.

Since three Vielfaure brothers and a couple of other hog producers formed a joint venture in 1994, the company, based in La Broquerie has grown aggressively. It changed its name from Hytek to HyLife in 2011.

When the recently completed capital project was announced less than two years ago, the company was processing about 1.65 million hogs every year at its Neepawa plant and was responsible for about 80 per cent of that hog production, contracting out the rest to third-party producers.

The company is now up to 2.25 million hogs produced annually, two million processed, six feed mills and is exporting to 20 countries.

“Neepawa has been a partner with HyLife since its beginnings here and we look forward to continued positive relationships in the future,” said Town of Neepawa mayor Adrian de Groot. “As one of the major employers in this area, HyLife continues to add diversity and opportunity to not only Neepawa but also the surrounding communities.”

— staff