France-based Roquette broke ground Thursday on its $400 million plus pea-protein plant just west of Portage la Prairie, MB.
Once completed, the facility would be the largest pea processing facility in the world, employing about 150 people. An additional 350 construction jobs are also expected to be created.
“We are thrilled to celebrate our new site’s groundbreaking today in Portage la Prairie, and to start working with our local partners on the next phases of this project," said Jean-Marc Gilson, CEO of Roquette. "This represents a major step in our development strategy in North America and in the plant protein business, and we are looking forward to offering our pea-protein products from Portage la Prairie, at the heart of Manitoba, to customers and consumers in America and worldwide."
The plant will expand Roquette’s pea-protein production capacity and will help address the growing customer demand for plant-based proteins in North America and globally.
“The Manitoba government is incredibly proud to participate in the groundbreaking of Roquette’s ambitious new pea processing facility,” said Manitoba Premier Brian Pallister. “Roquette is a world leader in sustainable protein production and their historical investment in Manitoba will have a profound impact on our agriculture industry and the provincial economy. This project and our partnership truly demonstrates that Manitoba is open for business and ready to compete for investment in the world market.”
Manitoba's Agriculture Minister Ralph Eichler explained how the industrial unit would impact farmers in Manitoba.
"It's going to give them an opportunity to grow some higher level price crops and get them a better return on their investment," he said. "They're going to need some machinery to change to adapt to some of these growing conditions as well. At the end of the day, farmers are very resilient, they'll grow where they have a market."
Source : Steinbachonline