Maple Leaf Foods is looking to bring home the bacon by bringing microwavable bacon production to Winnipeg.
The Ontario-based food producer says its completed a $182-million expansion of its Winnipeg plant with intentions of “significantly increasing its bacon production capacity.”
To that end, the company is calling the new 73,000 square-foot space — which will be its primary pre-cooked bacon production facility — a “Bacon Centre of Excellence.”
“Our vision to become the most sustainable protein company on earth applies even to our very best convenience food, which includes delicious pre-cooked bacon,” said Maple Leaf’s president and CEO, Michael H McCain, in a release.
“This state-of-the-art facility will deliver sustainably made cooked bacon products from meat humanely raised and without antibiotics, made by a carbon neutral company. We are really proud of this.”
Maple Leaf says final touches on the project are ongoing and commercial production is expected to ramp up in the coming months.
The company says roughly 350 new jobs will be created at its Lagimodiere Boulevard plant, bringing the facility’s total work force to more than 1,900 people.
Earlier this week the Manitoba government announced $1.9 million in funding through its Industry Expansion Program to help Maple Leaf train new and existing employees.