Growing a pizza plant

McCain Foods is to undertake a $29 million (€25.6m) expansion and upgrading of its Canadian Grand Falls pizza plant. The project will begin in August with completion scheduled for May 2004.

"Our plans are to double the size of our pizza facility in Grand Falls,"​ said Allison McCain, chairman of McCain Foods. "McCain Pizzas have become among our most successful Canadian products and additional production capacity is required to meet increasing sales."​

Arnold Park, president and CEO of McCain Foods (Canada) said: "Our McCain Rising Crust Pizza line and newer McCain Pizza International line have enjoyed accelerating sales. In the last three years Rising Crust Pizza sales alone have increased by 228 per cent."​

With the new construction, the total plant area will increase from a little more than 60,000 square feet to 119,560 square feet. This includes production and storage space as well as a new office and employee facilities building linked to the plant by a walkway.

The project also includes the addition of a third production line and upgrading of the older portion of the plant. New equipment throughout will increase the automation of the production, freezing and packaging process.

The Grand Falls pizza plant, part of a McCain complex that includes potato processing and juice production facilities, presently employs 265. This will increase by about 16 employees when the expanded plant reaches full capacity.

McCain Foods (Canada) and associated companies such as Charcuterie la Tour Eiffel in Blainville, Quebec, Wong Wing Foods in Montreal and Belleisle Foods in New Brunswick, have a total of 15 production facilities located in six provinces across Canada.

McCain Foods Limited​, the largest producer of French fried potatoes in the world, has more than 55 plants on six continents, more than 20,000 employees and annual sales of more than $6 billion.