More than $971,000 in federal funding has been directed to Jasper Wyman & Son Canada Inc. to upgrade that company’s blueberry sorting operations.
“Companies like Jasper Wyman are working hard to bring innovative practices and techniques to their operations, ensuring they can bring their world class products to kitchen tables across the country, and jobs to Prince Edward Island,” said federal minister Lawrence MacAulay. “The government is proud to support projects that keep the processing sector on the cutting-edge.”
Minister MacAulay also announced an additional repayable contribution of $500,000 from the Atlantic Canada Opportunity Agency’s Business Development Program.
Both announcements were made on behalf of the Honourable Navdeep Bains, Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development.
“The Wyman’s family would like to thank Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency and the Government of Prince Edward Island for their continued support of our quest to expand wild blueberry exports and create high-paying jobs in Canada,” said Robert Mancini, kVP and CFO of Jasper Wyman & Son. “This investment will be used to fund state-of-the-art processing technology that will enhance our ability to meet ever-increasing global customer demands for exceptional quality. Through strong collaboration with both the federal and provincial governments, we have been able to continuously research and test innovative processing technologies in an attempt to deliver the highest quality wild blueberry product in the industry.”
This funding will be used to install new equipment to more efficiently and precisely sort produce, while removing up to 99 per cent of defective berries. The project will help Jasper Wyman & Son Canada Inc. grow exports and sales, increase processing capacity, reduce water and energy consumption and hire additional staff.
Prince Edward Island will provide a $194,000 grant through Innovation PEI to assist with the project.
Print this page
