Recently, Canada’s Drake Meat Processors secured vital financing from a local venture-capital fund to construct a new plant, a project anticipated to create 200 new jobs.
Golden Opportunities Fund, along with government-linked Farm Credit Canada Capital and other local strategic investors, participated in this financing initiative. While the total amount remains undisclosed, it underscores strong local investment interest.
This family-owned business plans to establish a 53,000 square-foot meat processing facility in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, with the capacity to produce over eight million kilograms of meat products annually to meet the growing Canadian demand.
Drake Meat Processors supplies a range of retailers, including Costco, Co-op stores, Loblaws, Walmart, and Sobeys, thereby ensuring a solid market presence.
The investment will enhance site capabilities, featuring a tempering room, an automated injection system, an automated bacon line, and natural gas smokehouses.
Founded in 1949 as a meat co-operative in Drake, Saskatchewan, the fourth-generation, family-run company is owned by the Ediger family.
The Ediger family remains committed, continuing as major shareholders after this financing round.
CEO Kelly Ediger remarked, “The construction of our 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.”
Drake’s products feature “prime cuts” of pork and beef, blended with “unique blends of spice” and smoked naturally with hardwood.
Grant Kook, president and CEO of Golden Opportunities, added, “Our investment will support Drake’s growth initiatives, local job creation, and capital investment here in the Saskatchewan economy at a time when supporting local is more important than ever.”
