Quebec agrifood firm Préval Ag has wrapped up its deal to buy the Alberta processing and production assets of the defunct North American Lamb Co., marking Préval’s first move into the lamb sector outside its home province.
As per Alberta Farmer’s report last week, Préval confirmed Monday its divisions Westfine Meats and West Excelamb are now the owners of the former SunGold Speciality Meats lamb processing plant at Innisfail, south of Red Deer, and NALCO’s lamb breeding and finishing operations at Iron Springs, north of Lethbridge.
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Préval also confirmed Monday the two divisions, which produce and market lamb under the Sungold and Lamb Tonight brands, will now operate as units of its veal and lamb processing arm Montpak International.
NALCO entered creditor protection last summer, owing a total of almost $53 million to lenders Farm Credit Canada and Scotiabank among others. Préval didn’t say Monday how much it paid for the Alberta assets, a figure previously sealed by court order at the request of the court-appointed monitor.
The monitor, Ernst and Young (EY), reached purchase and sale agreements with Préval for the Alberta assets in November and picked up approval for those deals last month from Alberta Court of King’s Bench in Calgary.
The deal creates some certainty for lamb producers in Western Canada by ensuring the continued operation of the region’s only federally inspected lamb processing plant.
“We are fortunate to be acquiring world-class operations that will deliver the same high standard of quality on which Préval Ag has built its reputation,” Montpak CEO Alex Fontaine said in a release Monday.
“For us, sourcing locally is essential, and we will therefore be working closely with local producers to expand the marketing of our lamb products in the Canadian market.”
Préval also announced the appointment of Stéphane Beausoleil as general manager for the Alberta operartion, tasked with “integrating the new company into the Préval Ag family.”
Beausoleil will also be working with the plant team “to promote the quality of Canadian lamb products under the Sungold, Lamb Tonight and Famille Fontaine brands.”
Préval, based at St-Hyacinthe, Que., operates 42 subsidiaries, including veal, beef and lamb processing divisions Montpak and Délimax, plus other crop and horticulture production and processing units.
With the NALCO deal in place, Préval said its units’ total annual sales are projected to reach over $750 million and its employee base over 1,600 people in Canada, the U.S. and South America.
Court of King’s Bench in December also approved the sales of NALCO’s four properties in Manitoba to three separate buyers.
ABAS Girls Ranch will take over the NALCO properties at Rockwood, Stony Mountain and Lundar, while 2 Flag Farms and Sheldon Harms will take up separate portions of the company’s land at Sarto. — Glacier FarmMedia Network
