Pictured at the ground breaking of the new Cavendish Farms french fry plant, from left to right are 36 year employee, David Ell; Director of Operations, Cavendish Farms Lethbridge, Lee Gleim; Minister of Agriculture and Forestry, Oneil Carlier; Premier Rachel Notley; President of Cavendish Farms, Robert K. Irving; Mayor of Lethbridge, Chris Spearman; General Manager and Senior Vice President of Cavendish Farms, Ron Clow; and Grower Greg Nakamura.
Back row left to right are: Project Lead for the new Cavendish Farms plant, Andrew Macleod; MLA for Lethbridge-East, Maria Fitzpatrick; Minister of Environment and Parks, Shannon Phillips; and Minister of Economic Development and Trade, Deron Bilous.
Cavendish Farms Breaks Ground for new potato processing plant in Lethbridge, Alberta
Cavendish Farms entered the next phase in the construction of their new CAD 360 million frozen potato processing plant today, with a ground-breaking event at the site of the new facility.
Joined by Alberta Premier Rachel Notley, and several other dignitaries, Cavendish Farms President Robert K. Irving acknowledged the next step in the company’s new plant in Lethbridge.
Robert K. Irving, President of Cavendish Farms:
“Today marks another step towards our new, state-of-the-art Cavendish Farms plant in Lethbridge.”
“This significant investment in this community reinforces our commitment to the region and our employees, growers and customers.”
“The Alberta and federal governments and the City of Lethbridge have established the general infrastructure necessary to allow us to build our new plant here.”
Since announcing the construction of the new plant, engineering and planning has been well underway, leading up to this important milestone event.
Rachel Notley, Premier of Alberta:
“The record investment Cavendish Farms is making in Lethbridge is good for our farmers and producers, good for the entire community, and good for our growing economy.”
“Together with the City of Lethbridge, the federal government and the good folks at Cavendish, we are creating more opportunities for our agricultural workers, more jobs for people in the area, and even more reasons to be proud of an industry central to who we are as Albertans.”
Chris Spearman, Mayor of Lethbridge:
“We’re thrilled that a major player in the global food industry like Cavendish Farms is breaking ground today on a new, larger, state-of-the-art plant in Lethbridge.”
“We have a business-friendly city, and I want to thank Cavendish Farms for the commitment and belief in our community that they are demonstrating with this historic investment.”
(Click to enlarge) 
Artist rendering of the new Cavendish Plant
Construction on the new plant will begin with foundation work in December and be completed by fall 2019.
Supplier and vendor procurement has begun and awarding local contracts, when possible, is a priority for Cavendish Farms.
The new plant will almost triple Cavendish Farms’ annual production capacity in Lethbridge to meet growing demand. At the height of construction, it is anticipated there will be 400 construction workers on-site and 750,000 person hours of work.
Source
J.D. Irving, Limited
