ST. HYACINTHE, Quebec – Olymel LP is closing a food manufacturing facility the company acquired in a buyout of Triomphe Foods, a Quebec City, Quebec-based deli meat and ham processor, less than a year after announcing the deal.

The Vanier plant in Quebec City is scheduled to close May 10, Olymel said. Production of cretons, bologna, pepperoni and spaghetti sauce will now be carried out at the company’s Blainville plant which is north of Montréal, Quebec. Olymel said the production switch will require an investment of C$2 million and will create 30 jobs.

Olymel has owned the Vanier plant since June 2018 as part of its acquisition of Triomphe Foods. Details of that transaction were not disclosed, but three production facilities and two distribution centers were part of the deal.

More than 250 people work for Triomphe Foods, which manufactures branded products that include: Tour Eiffel, Chef Georges and La Belle Bretagne (hams and pâtés), Nostrano (Italian deli meats), Alpina (Eastern European deli meats), Bilopage (cretons and head cheese) and Mother Hen, a brand specializing in baby food production including organic fruit and vegetable purées and meat purées.

After the transaction, Olymel conducted a review of potential synergies. The company “…concluded that given the old age of the Vanier plant, the redeployment of the facility's manufacturing activities was necessary. This decision will foster efficiency gains, economies of scale, and increased production capacity, while also eliminating overlap.”

“Olymel’s management made the difficult decision to close the Vanier plant in the general interest of the company. In all the scenarios considered, the costs of modernizing the Vanier plant would not have allowed us to achieve profitability,” explained Réjean Nadeau, president and chief executive officer of Olymel. “This decision will enable us to strengthen our production centers for the future, to invest in achieving even more efficiency, and even to create new jobs, as will be the case in Blainville. I want to thank all the employees of the Vanier plant for their work over the years. I asked that measures be taken to recognize their years of service and relocate them to one of our other facilities, and I hope that everyone will choose to stay with Olymel.”

Employees affected by the plant closure will receive severance benefits, according to Olymel, and all employees will be offered jobs at the Olymel pork processing plant in St. Henri de Levis on the South Shore of Quebec City.

A re-employment committee will be established to help workers who choose to change careers or undergo re-training.