Sierra Expands Freezer and
Cold Storage Operations
Protein food processor Sierra Supply Chain Services is investing $80 million in a large expansion of its “cold as a service” operations in Hamilton after finding the Ontario city offers everything it needs to grow.
The company will expand its freezer and cold storage operations from 93,000 square feet to 250,000 square feet and create 100 jobs. It also plans to add 30,000 square feet of food processing space to meet growing demand from customers.
Work will commence in the next few weeks and plans call for the new facility to be open in the fall of 2021.
The Hamilton investment is in partnership with Penta Properties, a major building owner and property developer with numerous properties in Hamilton, Niagara and throughout the Greater Toronto Area and tenants including Maple leaf Foods, Loblaw and G.T. French.
“We have been operating in Hamilton for a number of years and this community has provided us with a great ecosystem for growth,” said Rob Vanden Broek, CEO of Sierra Supply Chain.
“Penta Properties and the City of Hamilton have afforded us available greenfield property, efficient transportation networks to move our product and a skilled workforce that is second to none.”
Sierra says its state-of-the-art facility will focus on energy efficiency, advanced warehouse management systems and offering value-added services to refrigerated food providers. Sierra is located in the a, a 1,552-acre industrial park in the south end of Hamilton. It is at the junction of two parkways that are just minutes from major highways to Toronto and the U.S. border. The Red Hill Business Park is home to Canada’s largest commercial bakery, major life sciences employers, and international auto manufacturing distribution centres.
“The City of Hamilton is thrilled with this latest investment announcement from Sierra,” said Norm Schleehahn, director of economic development for the City of Hamilton.
“They have been a wonderful anchor company in the Red Hill Business Park and their investment is just the latest in a growing food and beverage cluster in that area.”
This includes Grupo Bimbo (Canada Bread), Maple Leaf Foods, Fortinos head office and sausage production plant, Gala Bakery, Mama Yolanda’s Lasagna, Nikolaos Fine Foods, Zarky’s Fine Foods and Super Sausage.
“It proves that Hamilton’s food and beverage production sector is one of the strongest in Ontario,” said Schleehahn.
Sierra Supply Chain opened in August 2013 with a 93,000-square-foot warehouse and distribution centre in Hamilton and focuses on meat staging, logistics, freezing services and exporting produced goods.
Sierra provides protein solutions to clients in the food processing, food service, retail and distributions sectors, with a purpose to simplify supply chain services. The company offers product knowledge, market insight, regulatory expertise and comprehensive protein supply chain solutions to reduce the costs of production, maximize operational efficiency, and mitigate supply side risk.
