HyLife sale worries La Broquerie council

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This article was published 16/05/2019 (1799 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

HyLife’s pending transition to a wholly foreign-owned entity proved to be a cause for concern around the La Broquerie council table last week, though the company’s co-founder says the business remains committed to the community where it began.

At a meeting last Wednesday, several La Broquerie councillors offered up their thoughts on what the sale of a controlling stake in HyLife could mean for La Broquerie.

HyLife announced last month that Charoen Pokphand Foods, an agri-food conglomerate headquartered in Thailand, was acquiring 50.1 percent of company shares.

The deal, worth an estimated $498 million, is expected to close this fall, at which time HyLife co-founders Claude Vielfaure, Denis Vielfaure, and Don Janzen will retire. CEO Grant Lazaruk will become the company’s new president.

“I just hope it doesn’t affect our municipality,” Councillor Larry Tetrault said. “I’m a bit worried about it.”

Tetrault allowed further growth was also possible.

“It can also be positive…it could help our region too.”

Councillor Paul Gauthier started to share what he’d heard since the sale was announced, but stopped himself abruptly, saying he wouldn’t elaborate while a reporter was present.

In a phone interview Monday, HyLife president Claude Vielfaure reiterated his view that the deal means “business as usual” for the company’s local operations. Vielfaure also noted the company’s “close relationship” with La Broquerie councils over the past 25 years.

“For the municipality of La Broquerie, we still have created lots of jobs. Our barn facilities are going to stay there.”

A need for more office space at its La Broquerie headquarters is, however, prompting the company to look around the Southeast, Vielfaure said.

“We’ve grown so much over the years. I think we’ve added on to our office five times in La Broquerie, and now we’re renting a whole bunch of space outside of our office area for employees. So we’re looking at all our options.”

The company could expand in La Broquerie again, or purchase and renovate a building in “the Steinbach area,” or build new, Vielfaure said.

“We want to expand our office and we’ll make the best business decision to do that.”

“No decision’s been made one way or the other.”