The Quebec agri-food group Préval AG, whose 42 meat production, grain processing and market gardening subsidiaries employ 1,600 people, is setting up in Western Canada with the purchase of meat production assets from lamb in Alberta.
Préval AG acquires Westfine Meats and West Excelamb from Alberta-based North American Lamb Company (NALCO).
For this group headed from Saint-Hyacinthe, this is its first breeding farm and its first factory, which are dedicated to the production of lamb meat and which are located outside Quebec.
With this acquisition, according to its managers, Préval AG will pass the milestone of 750 million dollars in consolidated sales.
The group’s workforce will also pass the threshold of 1,600 employees in its many business sites located in Canada (Quebec, Ontario, Alberta), but also in the northeastern United States (New Jersey) and in South America. .
In the opinion of Alexandre Fontaine, who is one of the three leading brothers of Préval AG, and CEO of its meat sector, the acquisition of Westfine Meats and West Excelamb will add “world-class facilities” within Préval AG which will allow it to “improve the local offer of lamb products for customers in Western Canada. »
Préval AG is already well established in the cattle (veal, beef) and lamb markets in eastern Canada and the northeastern United States with its brands such as Montpak, Delimax and Famille Fontaine, as well as Catelli Brothers in New Jersey. The Alberta-origin brands Sungold and Lamb Tonight will soon be added in lamb meat products.
“For us, local supply is crucial and that is why we will work closely with local producers to increase the marketing of lamb products in the Canadian market”, indicated Alexandre Fontaine.
From its family origins some forty years ago, the Préval AG group has risen to the top of the beef and sheep meat industry in Eastern Canada through acquisitions and the development of a network subsidiaries specializing in the various activities of this agri-food production chain.
Préval AG also has grain processing and market gardening subsidiaries in Quebec and Ontario.
In their corporate promotion, the three Fontaine brothers in the senior management of Préval AG (Alexandre, Donald and Fabien) say they have the ambition to “become a benchmark in the agri-food sector in North America” by focusing on a corporate culture ” driven by innovation and sustainable agricultural development. »