Drake Meats has announced a significant expansion with the construction of a new federally inspected plant in Saskatoon. This marks the first major expansion for the company, which has been operating out of its original plant in Drake, Saskatchewan.
Norman Ediger left the family farm and took a General Manager position at the community co-operative meat locker 67 years ago. He would acquire all existing shares, and thus the Drake Meats family legacy was born. Since he was 2 years old, his son Kelly spent time at the plant to be with his parents and grandparents, eventually buying the company from his father in 1980.
Cameron Johnson, Executive Chairman of Drake Meats, says over the years, we did expansions on the plant in Drake, Saskatchewan, but this is the first major expansion in terms of actually having new bricks and mortar built. Johnson explained. "In 2017, we leased a pod in the Agra Food Center in Saskatoon, which is a federally inspected food plant. This allowed us to start selling outside of Saskatchewan, which was a pretty major step for us."
The new plant, a 53,000 square foot facility, represents a $50 million investment and is expected to significantly boost the company's production capacity. "The new plant will be able to process another 8,000,000 kilograms of products annually," Johnson noted. "All of our increased volumes would be sold in Western Canada, with plans to eventually grow into Eastern Canada."
Drake Meats' current operations include their main plant in Drake and a leased location at the Saskatchewan Agra Food Center in Saskatoon. The company supplies major Canadian grocery chains such as Federated Co-op, Costco, Sobeys, Safeway, Loblaw, and Walmart with products like sausage, bacon, ham, and jerky.
The decision to expand was driven by strong customer demand and the company's long-term vision. "Kelly Ediger, the owner and CEO, has always wanted to have a federally inspected plant. It's always been a dream of his," Johnson said. "Our customers are quite large, and getting into more stores will drive significant growth for us."
The new facility is expected to be completed between June and September of 2026. "Today, all the structural steel framing is up, and it's starting to look like a building already," Johnson reported. The plant will initially employ 70 to 80 people, with plans to increase to 200 staff members as operations ramp up.
Financing for the project includes both debt and equity components, with Farm Credit Canada leading the debt financing, and Westcap through the Golden Opportunities Fund leading the equity side and a group of strategic local investors. "We were really lucky with that fund, which was very helpful in us being able to get the funds raised so that we could go forward and build this plant," Johnson added.
The Ediger family will remain the majority owner of the company. Kelly Ediger says the construction of the new facility is a tremendous milestone in the growth story of Drake. "We are passionate about our craft and sharing it with others, and we are excited to partner with FCC Capital and local capital partners like Golden who have a long-standing record of successfully growing companies."
This expansion is a significant step for Drake Meats, positioning the company for continued growth and success in the Canadian market.