Canadian Dairy Leader Lactalis Canada Inc. selects Oshawa’s Northwood Business Park

The City of Oshawa is pleased to announce that Lactalis Canada Inc., the Canadian dairy leader behind iconic brands such as Cracker Barrel, Black Diamond, Balderson, Astro and Lactantia and a subsidiary of France-based Lactalis Group, officially broke ground on a new distribution centre located in Oshawa’s Northwood Business Park on October 5, 2023.

The 35,210 square metre (379,000 square foot) centre will consolidate multiple shipping locations used to service the cheese and tablespreads category into a central, modern facility. The new distribution centre will facilitate the company’s long-term growth, increasing capacity and efficiency while enhancing service to the company’s customers.

The facility will create approximately 80 jobs in Oshawa and the surrounding region and will join Lactalis Canada’s workforce of more than 4,200 employees across 30 operating sites in Canada.

Key Facility Features

• Located at 1680 Thornton Rd. N. in Oshawa, Ontario in the growing Northwood Business Park.
• A 379,000 square foot facility with the ability to store up to 60,000 pallets in both cooler and freezer environments.
• The building will be zero-carbon ready with the potential to be Zero Carbon Building (Z.C.B.) certified.
• Source of energy will be fully on the Ontario power grid with no additional reliance on non-renewable energy sources.
• Use of energy efficient lighting controls, equipment and high insulation values will reduce the power load imposed on the refrigeration system.
• Heat generated from the refrigeration system will be fully reclaimed and used to heat the facility’s offices and the truck apron to melt snow for safety reasons.
• White roof will reduce heat island effect.
• Solar panels on the roof in a future phase will provide renewable power to partially or completely offset reliance on the power grid under certain conditions.

About Lactalis Canada

With 140 years of brand heritage, Lactalis Canada is committed to enriching and nurturing the lives of Canadians by producing nutritious and great tasting dairy products. Named on Forbes 2022 list of Canada’s Best Employers, Lactalis Canada directly employs more than 4,000 Canadians, supports hundreds of farming families and contributes to the livelihoods of thousands of Canadians who provide essential services to Lactalis Canada’s more than 30 operating sites including 20 manufacturing facilities. The company’s iconic brands include Cracker Barrel, Black Diamond, P’tit Québec, Balderson, Cheestrings Ficello, aMOOza!, Astro, Khaas, siggi’s, IÖGO, IÖGO nanö, Olympic, Lactantia, Beatrice, Marie Morin Canada, Galbani and Président. Lactalis Canada is part of Lactalis Group, the world’s leading dairy company, headquartered in Laval, France. For more information, visit the Lactalis Canada website

About Northwood Business Park

With the Lactalis Canada Inc. announcement, Northwood Business Park is helping lead a new wave of job growth and economic prosperity for the City of Oshawa as its newest prime employment development opportunity.

Location highlights:

• 202 hectares (500 acres) of prestige employment lands with servicing approved and budgeted by Region of Durham
• Located in proximity to Oshawa Executive Airport and Oshawa’s leading post-secondary institutions and research facilities – Ontario Tech University, Durham College and The Automotive Centre of Excellence (ACE)
• Connected to Canadian Pacific and Canadian National rail lines
• Public transit via Durham Region Transit is available with connections to the Oshawa GO station and the Oshawa Centre Terminal, a major transit hub connecting Oshawa to the Region of Durham

More information is available on the City’s Northwood Business Park webpage.

For more information on Economic Development Services, visit Oshawa.ca/investoshawa or follow @InvestOshawa on Twitter (X).

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Quotes:

“We are excited to welcome Lactalis Canada to our community – thank you for choosing the great City of Oshawa as the home of your largest global distribution facility,” said Oshawa Mayor Dan Carter. “This addition to Northwood Business Park will introduce one of Canada’s Best Employers to our city and bring approximately 80 new jobs to the Oshawa job market.”

“Since being appointed as Chair of Economic and Development Services Committee, with the support of my colleagues and department staff team, I’ve worked with purpose to help rebuild our local economy and enhance our city by cultivating a dynamic vision of progress focusing on blue-chip job creating prestige industrial development,” said Councillor Tito-Dante Marimpietri, Chair of the Economic and Development Services Committee. “Attracting Lactalis, the world’s largest and most renowned global dairy goods giant to the Northwood Business Park, is something I am extremely proud of and signals the construction of one of Canada’s most significant distribution HQs and Lactalis Group’s largest distribution centre globally from a capacity standpoint. Lactalis Group’s exciting new Northwood Business Park based operations represents a massive hub for their global supply chain and will further bring with it well-paid employment, grow our prestige industrial base, and inject substantial dollars into our dynamic metropolitan city and region.”

“Lactalis Canada’s relocation of its business operations to Oshawa marks another significant investment in our community,” said Councillor Bob Chapman, Vice-Chair of the Economic and Development Services Committee. “This strategic move aligns with Oshawa’s commitment to fostering economic development and capitalizing on our pipeline of local talent.”

“Our sincere thanks to the city and residents of Oshawa for embracing Lactalis Canada into your community. With over 30 operations across the country, and a significant presence in Ontario, we are honored to contribute to the vibrant tapestry of Oshawa,” said Mark Taylor, President and CEO, Lactalis Canada. “Our decision to invest in this distribution centre in Oshawa underscores our commitment to this country and its people, the food industry and Canadian economy at large and most importantly, our contribution to the prosperity and vitality of the communities in which we operate.”

“We are ready to go with our team already rallying together with shovels in the ground,” said Anthony Broccolini, Chief Executive Officer, Broccolini Real Estate Group. “We are incredibly excited by this partnership, and we are confident that in a little over a year from now, when we cross the finish line, everybody here will be able to stand in front of this new facility and be proud of what they accomplished.”

Photo Caption: 

Members of Oshawa City Council and representatives from Lactalis Canada Inc. and Broccolini recently broke ground on a new major industrial development at Northwood Business Park located at 1680 Thornton Rd. N.