McLeod Avenue Plant

Stu Irvine, president and chief operating officer, says the expansion will help Mitchell’s become a major player in the North American and world markets. "This is the only plant like it in North America", says Irvine. "Mitchell’s is a low-cost producer of high-quality products and we’re ready to take on a larger share of the market. We have what it takes to make it."

A Whole New Level of Processing

According to Kaay, the primary advantage of the new plant is its ability to take a product through alls stages of processing continuously, extending the shelf life and creating more efficient control of all products. "We are never holding the product in a cooler overnight", says Kaay. "We can produce, smoke, chill, and package it in a one-day process."

The new processing plant is arranged in three separate areas, all running from east to west, and has been carefully designed to prevent cross-contamination from the raw products area into the "ready-to-eat section.

The first area houses a state-of-the-art piece of equipment called a continuous smokehouse. Featuring two different chains, the smoke house allows for different-sized products to be run through simultaneously. "There are only two other continuous smokehouses like this that I’m aware of - one in Italy and one in the U.S." Kaay says. As an example of this unique technology, Kaay explains that if 20-mm wieners and 30-mm wieners are being processed at the same time, the chain with the larger wieners can be slowed down to ensure it receives the necessary time in each step of the preparation.

The second section of plant produces adult wieners while the third section houses the smoked sausage production.

Another of the new plant’s advantages comes from its specially heated floors. Because the company’s internal regulations require a complete cleaning of all machinery every 24 hours, the environment is often moist, encouraging the growth of bacteria. Heating the floors allows them to dry more quickly, thereby effectively controlling unwanted bacteria growth.

In another effort to prevent contamination of the product, the new plant uses positive filtered air pressure to prevent airborne bacteria from crossing from the raw material are to the "ready-to-eat" area. By adjusting the air pressure, the potentially contaminated air is drawn back to the place of origin. These unique design elements help elevate food safety to a whole new level, which is key to customer confidence in all Mitchell’s products.

In addition to food safety, the new plant also helps ensure consistency in the products by monitoring the predetermined percentages of protein, fat, moisture, and spices in the products. This keeps the levels uniform and leads to a more consistent product.

MIS - Management Information System

The MIS department introduced new information technology to the new facility designed to identify every piece of meat and every ounce of spice that enters the building and track its genealogy using lot numbers throughout the plant through to the package. The technology also provides the weights needed for yield, efficiency, and costing.

To the company’s understanding, this technology and process is unique to the meat industry in North America and has not been used by any other meat processor.

Supporting Growth

The expansion is not only good news for Mitchell’s and its employees; it also has a positive impact on the Saskatchewan economy. With the increase in volume, the company continues to be the No. 1 purchaser of Saskatchewan hogs and will be in the foreseeable future.

Mitchell’s has spent a great deal of time on hog procurement and the company is confident in its ability to acquire the best-quality hogs anywhere in Canada.

"As we grow, our suppliers grow with us," says Stu Irvine. "Our success is their success."