The announced closure of the Maple Leaf Foods plant in North Battleford was an even bigger shock to city officials than one might think.
At a press conference Oct. 28 to promote Liberal Ryan Bater's bid to win a seat in the provincial legislature, North Battleford councillor Trent Houk revealed to the audience that city hall had been under the impression Maple Leaf Foods was on the verge of expanding their North Battleford plant - not shut it down, which is what was announced by the company Oct. 19.
"We were very, very shocked they made that announcement because they had submitted, up until that day when they made that announcement, building plans sitting in the planning department for a $45 million expansion here," Houk told those at the news conference.
He also said he knew one local contractor who was contacted for equipment rentals already.
"The guy was trying to get mobilized to get on to construction here," said Houk.
"It was a huge, huge shock. We thought that they were expanding. They had submitted the plans. Even the developer had contacted about getting the permits."
As for what's next, Houk said the provincial, municipal and federal level will need to get together to fill the void.
Houk's comments were in response to concerns expressed by those attending the press conference about the closure of Maple Leaf and the impact it would have on the 330 people who are slated to lose their jobs in the first half of 2013.
The North Battleford closure came as part of the company's restructuring across the country. Four plants are slated for investment and expansion, while six are being closed entirely.
In an interview with the Regional Optimist after the announcement the vice-president of manufacturing for Maple Leaf Foods, Paul Hartwick, noted the need for the company to be competitive on a North American scale, and cited the age and size of the layout of the North Battleford plant as making it "impossible to establish that scale and efficiencies required to be globally competitive."
