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Larsen Packers Moncton Targeting Atlantic Consumers with Specialized Processing Focus
The processing of meat products for Atlantic consumers is changing and the major meat products processing plant in Moncton Industrial Park’s southwest corner is changing with the requirements for market specialization. One of the region’s largest operators and employers has re-aligned its operations as well as adopted a new name and expanded focus as a marketer. Formerly Hub Meat Packers Ltd., a member of the international Canada Packers family of food and agribusiness companies, the sprawling Edinburgh Drive location operates as Larsen Packers Moncton, in conjunction with a sister meat, poultry and hog processing plant Larsen Packers Berwick, located in Berwick, Nova Scotia. President of the merged company operations in Atlantic Canada is Karl Larsen. Under the blended brand and business structure, Larsen Packers Moncton is focused on expanding its value-added secondary meat processing capabilities. Larsen Packers is a subsidiary of Maple Leaf Foods Inc., Canada’s largest meat processing company. Maple Leaf is a publicly traded company. Common shares trade on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol "MFI". The Larsen Packers subsidiary produces meat products under the brand names Sunrise, Harvest Gold, Gloucester, Coachman, Larsen, Simons, Brandywyne, Trim Cut and Lite n Low. The Moncton plant is focused on the production of value-added meats and no longer accepts live animals for processing. The change in focus for the plant says CEO Larsen, are driven by growth opportunities and consumer demands for more highly refined meat products. Competitiveness Drives Plant Specialization “Specialized plants offer the greatest potential for growth in today’s highly competitive meat processing industry and we must adapt in order to remain competitive,” says Larsen. “These changes will allow us to build a strong platform for growth at both plants (Moncton and Berwick), and continuously improve the products and services we offer our customers.” The company’s public annual report states, “that despite a challenging environment in 2002, Maple Leaf Foods delivered increased sales and profit, and made key gains in terms of efficiency and productivity. This trend in sales growth continues into 2003 with sales for the first quarter of $1.3 billion compared to $1.2 billion for the same period last year, while earnings from operations before unusual items of $33.2 million decreased from $41.7 million last year”. “Our first quarter results reflect the continuing impact of a surplus in beef, pork and poultry products across North America, although we continued to outperform most of the industry,” said Michael McCain, President and Chief Executive Officer. "From a longer-term perspective, over the past seven years we have achieved a 13% compound annual growth rate in our earnings per share, a solid performance record. The fundamentals of our Company are very strong, and I fully expect that when these markets correct themselves, as they always have, that we are well positioned to drive profitable growth.” Maple Leaf Foods is a leading, global food processing company and is based in Toronto, Canada. The company employs approximately 15,000 people at operations across Canada, in the United States, Europe and Asia. Employment levels at the Moncton processing plant location range between 850 to 900 employees. The Maple Leaf brand first appeared more than 100 years ago. Over the years, the company evolved and grew through a number of mergers and acquisitions. In 1990, Maple Leaf Mills Limited and Canada Packers Inc. merged to form Maple Leaf Foods. In 1995, McCain Capital Corporation and the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan Board acquired controlling interest in the company. Larsen, speaking at the time of the realignment of the two processing plants noted that the Moncton plant was being refocused on secondary meat product processing in order to create a better, more efficient platform for future growth in sales and processing capacity. Larsen and Maple Leaf: Global Market Focus The history of the Edinburgh Drive location for the former Hub Meat Packer’s has always been about growth and responding to new market opportunities. The processing plant became an early symbol of Moncton’s manufacturing capacity and dominated the industrial park in terms of square footage and employee base from a modest entrepreneurial start. When, in the early 60's, Hub Meat Packer's Ltd hired eight employees and turned out its first meat products to market, Japanese cars were only available in the US, and only promised for Canada. The last steam- powered train, travelling through Moncton, had only recently occurred, signalling the change to diesel electric locomotives and the eventual closing of Moncton's steam Locomotive era-Machine Shops. No one could have foreseen that within four decades Hub Meats would become one of Moncton's largest, non-government organizations, employing up to as many as 1100 workers in an ever expanding processing facility under the Sunrise and others brands in Atlantic Canada. Hub Meat Packers, at the time of the sale to Maple Leaf Foods, had publicly released sales figures for 1999 of approximately $270 million in product sales. (http://www.agcanada.com/NewsManager/Articles/dwfeb11.1.html) During this more than 35-year interval of growth, Hub Meat Packer's developed the Sunrise brand among others. The then-privately held company developed a reputation in the region for frequent expansion of capacity and processing innovation to match demand in Atlantic Canada for their processed meat products. Today, an expanding array of consumer branded meat items are run through secondary processing lines and shipped to growing regional markets from the mammoth facility that anchors the Southwest corner of the Moncton Industrial Park. Under the Larsen Packers banner, the Moncton facility manufacturers an extensive variety of processed meats including Canadian bacon, hams, fresh or cooked diced beef and pork, a full line of shaved and sliced meats, pepperoni, salami, and bologna. Larsen manufactures pork products for the U.S.A. and Caribbean market, and is constantly looking for additional new markets around the world. Larsen Packers Moncton is U.S.D.A. approved and H.A.C.C.P. recognized and has over thirty years experience in exports. The company has developed strong brand identification in products such as Sunrise and Harvest Gold The original Hub Meat Packers operations began operation on August 22, 1966 and up until 1999 was privately held by the Rinzler family of Moncton who sold to the Maple Leaf Foods. When Rinzler's launched Hub as a consumer product business, Moncton and Canada's turbulent changes in the retailing marketplace were just about to happen. During this period, Hub's initial plant on Edinburgh Drive expanded continuously, repeatedly, and on all sides, evolving into a large, integrated processing plant. Larsen Packers Moncton 144 Edinburgh Dr. Moncton (New Brunswick) E1E 2K7 Plant Location: Moncton Industrial Park Contact: Brad Cameron, Vice President of Marketing Tel: (506) 853-6100 Fax: (506) 853-0613 Internet: camerobs@sunrise.ca Products: Fresh and frozen pork products for both retail, Foodservice, and Industrial applications including; processed meats including smoked and cooked ham, bacon, wieners, sausages, pepperoni, salami, bologna, sweet pickled meats, , patties, burgers and steakettes, pre-cooked roast beef, as well as " case ready " retail sliced deli meats. Also produce a full line of cooked slicing logs and IQF (Instantly Quick Frozen) diced chicken/pork/and beef products used for further processing in other plants. July, 2003 
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