HyLife expansion on the horizon

Details

Published on Thursday, September 8, 2016

By Ken Waddell

Neepawa Banner/Neepawa Press

In connection with the recent Government of Canada trade mission to China, a number of new trade deals have been announced. Among the dozens of initiatives announced is one that involves Hylife Foods of LaBroquerie and Neepawa.

The release states, “HyLife of Manitoba agreed on a product proposal and contract terms with JD.com to market their premium Canadian pork products on the Chinese company’s e-commerce platform. Revenues from the site sales are expected to reach around $6 million until the end of 2018. HyLife also plans to invest $90 million on the expansion of its plant and hire 165 more Canadian employees to address the growing Chinese demand.”

HyLife owns the pork production plant at Neepawa and employs over 1,050 people in all aspects of the operation. They have ongoing advertising and recruitment efforts to employ Canadian workers but a larger percentage of their employees have come from other countries, mainly the Philippines. 

Guy Baudry, COO of Hylife, indicated that an expansion is under consideration and it will be tied to expanding export markets in an incremental fashion. HyLife sends Canadian pork into domestic markets as well as Japan, China, the U.S. and Mexico. More details are expected this fall as plans are finalized.