Richardson International to build innovation centre

Winnipeg, Man. – One of Canada’s largest agribusiness companies is investing $30 million to build an innovation centre.

Richardson International announced in a statement (“Richardson to build world-class innovation centre in downtown Winnipeg” on April 4, 2018) that the innovation centre will be in downtown Winnipeg, and will feature state-of-the-art technology and equipment for research and product development.

The company says the centre will “complement Richardson’s food and ingredients division and will provide an extensive opportunity for industry collaboration.”

The centre will be a four-storey, 62,000-sq.-ft. facility that will house Richardson’s food development team, product development suites, analytical laboratory and a culinary test and demonstration kitchen.

The centre will also house a microbiology lab and a quality analysis area.

There will also be office areas “with room for expansion to focus on innovation such as the increased use of robotics and automation in food packaging and processing.”

Chuck Cohen, Richardson’s senior vice-president of Technology, says in the statement that the goal of the centre is for it to become “a training facility for our employees and customers and an education centre for food science students and the culinary community.”