March 19, 2021 - New Hamburg, Ontario
Canada's agri-food producers have been hit hard by the economic impacts of the pandemic. The Government of Canada is committed to providing them the resources they need to support our economic recovery and emerge stronger and more competitive than before. Central to this is supporting their growth to meet customer demands-within Canada and globally-while creating new jobs for Canadians, in communities large and small.
Today, Tim Louis, Member of Parliament for Kitchener−Conestoga, on behalf of the Honourable Mélanie Joly, Minister of Economic Development and Official Languages and Minister responsible for FedDev Ontario, announced a FedDev Ontario investment of $2 million to support the scale-up and growth of B-W Feed & Seed. The company's feed mill is producing at full capacity and B-W Feed & Seed is ready to expand with construction of a new facility.
B-W Feed & Seed expects to create 10 full-time jobs in New Hamburg and maintain 28 existing positions. With the help of this repayable investment, the company will install advanced manufacturing equipment and quadruple production capacity to meet customer demands. The company will leverage nearly $22 million in other investment, inject an anticipated $20 million in additional supply chain purchases into the southwestern Ontario economy annually and undertake activities to expand into international markets.
Quotes
"B-W Feed & Seed is one example of how agri-food manufacturers are scaling up production to expand capacity and meet growing demand, which is important as we work toward economic recovery. This FedDev Ontario investment is supporting a rural company which is strengthening the local supply chain and creating jobs in the New Hamburg community."
- Tim Louis, Member of Parliament for Kitchener−Conestoga
"Our agriculture and agri-food sectors are critical to the well-being of our population. Southern Ontario's agri-food manufacturers, such as B-W Feed & Seed, have tremendous potential to support Canada's economic growth and local economic diversification and we are proud to support their growth."
- The Honourable Mélanie Joly, Minister of Economic Development and Official Languages and Minister responsible for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario
"B-W Feed & Seed is excited to take the next step, investing in a new, efficient feed manufacturing facility to support agriculture in southwestern Ontario. This support from FedDev Ontario is helping us increase capacity, efficiency and better serve livestock producers, while supporting our local supply chain and creating local jobs."
- Dave Bender, President & CEO, B-W Feed & Seed
Quick facts
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A family-owned producer of cow, hog and poultry feed, B-W Feed & Seed has been operating since 1966, and has grown to serve more than 500 customers and employs 28 full-time staff.
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Ontario's agri-food sector supports more than 837,000 jobs across the province and contributes more than $47.5 billion each year to the regional economy.
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Since November 2015, FedDev Ontario has invested over $123 million in 83 projects in the agri-food sector.
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Since November 2015, FedDev Ontario has invested over $167 million in 149 projects in the Waterloo census division, which includes New Hamburg.
