Ultima Foods is investing $14.4 million in Quebec plant

Longueuil, Que. – Ultima Foods is ready to grow its Granby facility.

The company announced in a statement that it is “investing $14.4 million to install a new drinkable yogurt production line and optimize operations” at its Quebec plant.

Ultima says it is providing $10.8 million, while Investissement Québec is contributing a $3.6 million interest-free loan. The statement says the investment will create 35 to 40 new jobs.

Martin Parent, Ultima Foods’ president, says the yogurt sector is “highly competitive” and the company needs to be innovative to stay on top.

“Not only do we have to serve consumers, who are always on the lookout for new products,” he says, “but our facilities must also be extremely efficient to build our relations with our clients.”

Ultima Foods says in the statement that is produces “30 per cent of the yogurt consumed in Canada.”

The company launched the ïogo brand in 2012 and has since “added new formats, such as pouches, and trendy products like smoothies to its yogurt product line.”

The company adds in the statement that it has reached the limit of its drinkable yogurt production capacity  – mainly due to the success of all its previous innovations and launches.

With the new equipment the Granby plant will go from producing 2.7 million units to 4.8 million units. The statement says by optimizing its operating costs, Ultima will be able “to reinvest even more in the development of new yogurt products.”