No one had to be asked to say “Cheese” as Lactalis Canada celebrated the official opening of their Winchester facility’s new milk receiving bay with special ribbon cutting event attended by many invited guests. From left: Bruce Shurtletff, VP, Manufacturing, Cheese & Tablespreads, Lactalis Canada, Matt Price, CHRO, Lactalis Canada, Gilles Froment, SVP, Government & Industry Relations, Lactalis Canada, Nolan Quinn, Member of Provincial Parliament for Stormont-Dundas-South Glengarry, Mark Taylor, President & CEO of Lactalis Canada, Tony Fraser, Mayor of the Township of North Dundas, Chris Laskaris, Senior Logistics Specialist, Milk Allocation, Dairy Farmers of Ontario, Vasile Raileanu, SVP Financial Control, Lactalis Canada, Martin Santerre, SVP Manufacturing, Lactalis Canada, Navid Kobari, Plant Director, Lactalis Canada Winchester. Courtesy Photo
WINCHESTER – On Thurs., April 9, Lactalis Canada held a special event to mark the official opening of a new milk receiving bay at its Winchester, Ontario location. The investment by Lactalis is expected to increase its milk receiving capacity by 25 per cent.
Mark Taylor, President & CEO, Lactalis Canada was on hand for the announcement. “Lactalis Canada is proud to officially open a new state of the art milk receiving bay at our Winchester, Ontario cheese processing facility,” said Taylor. “This new facility will increase our ability to receive and process milk and in turn, increase production capacity and support the continued growth of the site,” said. “This latest infrastructure investment at over $16 million reinforces our Winchester plant’s position as the largest cheese manufacturing plant in Canada and its role as critical hub in the Canadian dairy landscape.”
The $16.4 million investment will give Lactalis the ability to receive up to two million litres of milk per day, an increase of approximately 25 per cent.
The 180,000 ft² state-of-the-art facility features four (4) truck bays and three (3) independent milk receiving systems. It was designed with enhanced ergonomics for milk drivers and receivers.
This is just the latest investment made by Lactalis Canada in recent years in its Winchester, facility to support operations. An award winning $18 million wastewater treatment plant was completed in 2020, a new private roadway was added in 2021 to divert milk truck traffic away from the town core, and major infrastructure upgrades such as a new refrigeration plant and boiler plant have been added.
In 2026 alone, the company is investing $42 million at the site, inclusive of the $16.4 million new milk receiving bay.
With a rich history dating back to the late 1800s, the Winchester facility is the largest cheese plant in Canada by volume and proud home to a team of more than 300 employees dedicated to producing brand products which include Balderson, Black Diamond and Cracker Barrel cheese and Lactantia and Président butter.
An increase in the allocation of water and wastewater units for the Winchester plant was recently approved by the Township of North Dundas council. This allows an additional 157.5 cubic metres of supply per day to go to the Lactalis plant. Lactalis will pay the township nearly $1.7 million for the latest water allocation.
The plant has undertaken a program to reduce consumption and increase water conservation. By the end of 2028, the Winchester plant expects to be able to recycle 350 cubic metres of water per day.
