Brantford pickle factory moves to Quebec

Thursday, October 25, 2012

by SUSAN MANN

Whyte’s Foods Inc. is relocating its Strub’s pickle facility to Quebec from Brantford next year, the company announced Tuesday.

The Quebec-based Whyte’s, an olive maker and pickle packer, acquired the Strub’s assets and brand on June 18 through a bankruptcy court proceeding. It has started slowing down production at the Brantford facility with the goal of closing the plant in late January 2013.

Production of the full line of Strub’s pickles will be relocated to Whyte’s Quebec production facilities in St.-Louis-sur-Richelieu and Laval.

Just before it went into bankruptcy this year, Strubs Food Corp. announced it wasn’t contracting any cucumbers or peppers with Ontario growers. Whyte’s didn’t contract any either. “Unfortunately they weren’t contracting with Ontario growers at this point anyway,” says Al Krueger, executive assistant to the Ontario Processing Vegetable Growers. “I think what Whyte’s did is they may have bought from Hartung (Hartung Brothers Inc. of Madison, Wisconsin) who buys from Ontario growers.”

Krueger says he doesn’t know if Hartung can keep that business after Strub’s transfer to Quebec. Hartung is a licensed green shipper and a buyer of Ontario cucumbers for processing but isn’t a processor.

In its announcement, Whyte’s says “the relocation is the result of an extensive internal review by the Whyte’s management team since the acquisition of the Strub’s assets on June 18 through a bankruptcy court proceeding.”

Krueger says Whyte’s said in their announcement they anticipate increasing the number of fresh cucumbers they buy from Canadian growers and buying most of their peppers from Ontario growers. But there are cucumber growers in Quebec “so whether or not they’ll move that production to those Quebec growers or whether they’ll want it from Hartung, I just don’t know.” He notes the Ontario Processing Vegetable Growers will be meeting with Hartung in a couple of weeks to begin negotiating 2013 cucumber prices. Normally Hartung buys 80 per cent of the Ontario cucumber crop.

In Brantford, 43 full-time employees who were hired in June on short-term contracts will be affected by the plant’s relocation. Whyte’s says about one-third of the current positions at the Strub’s plant will be phased out by Dec. 21. Employees will be given the opportunity to apply for positions at Whyte’s Quebec facilities. All eligible employees are being given full severance packages and the company’s human resources department will help them through the transition.

The restructuring allows the company to continue producing authentic Strub’s pickles in Canada, Whyte’s says. BF