An open house at Gerard Maheu Inc. gave the public a rare opportunity to visit the ultra-modern and expanded facilities of the family-owned feed mill in Saint-Louis-de-Gonzague on November 6.
Over 100 people, most of them area farmers and customers, were welcomed in a festive atmosphere to celebrate the company’s 81st anniversary as well as the completion of a major expansion project. Kiosks and a food truck were on hand offering a free lunch to participants, while several of the owners took turns giving guided tours of the mill.
In addition to a fourfold increase in floor space to create new production and storage areas, the company also acquired a new bagging and palletizing robot with a production capacity of up to 10 bags of feed, seed, or fertilizer per minute, or eight tonnes per hour.
The robot alone, made up of a module from the Quebec company Robovic and a German-made module, required an investment of $1.5 million, while the plant expansion, warehousing, and shipping project cost a total of over $6.5 million.
Despite the mill’s modern appearance, the original structure is still visible in places, with its large solid wood beams. It is an amalgam that reflects the company’s image, says co-owner André Brisson.
“Since the start of the business in 1943, we still have four members of the Maheu family as owners, and two people, including myself, who have been adopted,” said Brisson, who noted that while robotization has made the mill’s operations more efficient, there have been no job losses. “We have just reduced our overtime,” he explained.
The company, which generates almost 50 per cent of its sales in the United States, employs nearly sixty people, including around 50 at its two Canadian facilities in Saint-Louis-de-Gonzague and in Huntingdon.