Following the announcement in January of its investment to build the largest pea protein facility to date, Roquette completes the first step by launching the construction of its new site in Manitoba, Canada.
La Madeleine (France), 28 September 2017 – Roquette, a global leader in innovative plant-based food ingredients, celebrated today the groundbreaking of its pea-protein manufacturing site to be built in Portage la Prairie, Manitoba (Canada). The event counted on the presence of local authorities and First Nations’ representatives.
The kick-off of the site’s construction work constitutes a major step in the project launched on January 18th, 2017, when Roquette announced an investment of more than 400 million CAD to build this plant, and which schedule was confirmed today.
This large industrial unit will expand Roquette’s pea protein production capacity and will help address the growing customer demand for plant-based proteins in North America and globally. This facility will reinforce Roquette’s global leadership in plant protein products and will reaffirm its strategy to develop specialties for Food, Nutrition & Health markets. It will also reinforce Roquette’s presence in the Americas, recently expanded by the acquisition of the pharmaceutical excipients’ supplier Itacel in Brazil.
Pea protein offers many advantages to farmers, customers and consumers, as its production is environmentally friendly and it is a great source of protein, with numerous applications in gluten-free foods, vegetarian foods, sports and slimming foods, senior nutrition and clinical nutrition.
In line with the calendar laid out in January, production is expected to begin in 2019. Upon completion, Roquette’s site in Portage la Prairie is expected to employ around 150 people, mostly recruited locally. This site will complement well Roquette’s existing pea production facility in Vic-sur-Aisne (France), where the company recently announced an additional investment of €40 million last June.
Jean-Marc Gilson, CEO of Roquette stated: “We are thrilled to celebrate our new site’s groundbreaking today in Portage-La-Prairie, and to start working with our local partners on the next phases of this project. This represents a major step in our development strategy in North America and in the plant protein business, and we are looking forward to offering our pea-protein products from Portage-la-Prairie, at the heart of Manitoba, to customers and consumers in America and worldwide.”
“The Manitoba government is incredibly proud to participate in the groundbreaking of Roquette’s ambitious new pea processing facility,” said Manitoba Premier Brian Pallister. “Roquette is a world leader in sustainable protein production and their historical investment in Manitoba will have a profound impact on our agriculture industry and the provincial economy. This project and our partnership truly demonstrates that Manitoba is open for business and ready to compete for investment in the world market.”
“We are pleased with the Roquette Canada's decision to utilize our recently created Southern Chiefs’ Organization human resource data base to match our labour force with their employment needs" commented Grand Chief Jerry Daniels from the Southern Chiefs Organization (SCO). “Roquette’s commitment to this partnership will also stimulate the economies of our southern communities.This partnership is the first of a wide range of partnerships that SCO is in the process of developing with industry to support its’ economic development goals.” continued Grand Chief Jerry Daniels.
About Roquette
A family-owned Group serving customers globally, Roquette is a leader in specialty food ingredients and pharmaceutical excipients. The products and solutions developed by the Group deliver proven technological, nutritional and health benefits precisely tailored to the pharma, nutrition, food and selected industry markets. Roquette’s offer is produced from plant-based raw materials such as corn, wheat, potatoes and peas. Since its foundation over 80 years ago, the Group’s growth has been based on innovation, a passion for the job and a commitment to achieve. Roquette operates in over 100 countries, has a turnover of more than 3.2 billion euros and currently employs more than 8,300 people worldwide.
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