Victim of a spring flood in 2019, the Vachon bakery in Sainte-Marie de Beauce completed a $10 million work to build an 848-meter-long wall that would protect it from any future flooding.
This significant investment is synonymous with a commitment to Quebec, according to Marie-Yves Royer, Senior Vice President, Processing at Bimbo Canada, Vachon Bakery.
With the completion of this project, the multinational has chosen to retain the original Centenary Site in Saint Marys in order to ensure its sustainability in the community.
Work began in February 2021,” said Guy LaRochelle, COO of Fashion Bakery in St. Mary’s.
Added to this is $90 million to rebuild equipment and repair damage to the building in 2019 that affected production for several days.
The wall will enhance the bakery’s ability to maintain production in the event of future floods. This factory is where Jos Louis, Ah Caramel, May West, Passion Flakie, and many others are made. There are approximately 500 people working there.
“We know that the Vachon bakery in Sainte-Marie is a very important business owner. For Bimbo Canada, it was important to maintain operations on site. This is one of the reasons that motivated this investment,” said Mr. La Rochelle.
“This is to secure the production of Fashion products that many Quebecers love in Quebec,” he added.
This project was implemented in cooperation with the Ministry of Environment and municipal authorities.
“We have worked with the ministry to ensure that the project meets all applicable standards,” Mr. La Rochelle continued.
According to Jemond Druin, Director of Engineering at St. Mary’s Bakery, the best experts have been brought together to collaborate on the realization of this initiative.
We have studied historical flood levels. We also considered what future levels of flooding could be. The wall was designed to counteract over historic floods. We really used the best information we could get the best results. “We are very confident and very proud of the work we have created,” said Mr. Drouin.
manpower shortage
Like the vast majority of businesses today, Fashion is no exception to a labor shortage.
“We are no strangers to this. Everyone is in the same boat. Yes, we have employment challenges, even if we offer favorable conditions,” added Mr. La Rochelle.
The Sainte-Marie factory has vacancies for maintenance of its equipment such as mechanical and electrical engineers.