“It took a real team to pull that off.”

I’m quoting Shelbyville Mayor Tom DeBaun, who was interviewed by The Shelbyville News upon the announcement that Maple Leaf Foods Inc. is set to build North America’s largest plant-based protein facility right near the intersection of Interstate 74 and State Road 44.

In Indiana.

In a conference call with analysts this week, Maple Leaf CEO Michael McCain expanded on his vision to be the most sustainable protein company on earth. Plant-based protein is “foundational” to that vision, he said. Maple Leaf’s newly created and wholly owned subsidiary, Greenleaf Foods, will oversee the military march on the exploding plant protein market.

From Chicago.

Perhaps I’m too much of a Pollyanna to have imagined that a Canadian-based facility processing Canadian-grown yellow peas into Canadian-made just-like-meat burger patties by fairly-paid Canadian labour for global export would have been a good moment for Canadian business.

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Perhaps I am too irked by the fact that Indiana is a right-to-work state, effective at lowering worker incomes, increasing owner incomes and reducing unionization. I certainly took note of the fact that the backdrop to the Maple Leaf/Greenleaf groundbreaking ceremony was an egg yolk-yellow Caterpillar dozer. Seven years ago, Caterpillar packed in its Electro-Motive rail operations in London, Ont., moving to … that’s right, Indiana. Readers may recall the brutal London lockout the winter of 2012 and the corporate push to slash wages by as much as 50 per cent.

Those jobs are long gone.

On the bright side, Ontario Premier Doug Ford okayed a $34.5-million grant — yes, grant — to Maple Leaf last year to build a new poultry plant in London that the premier promised would “create” 1,450 to 1,500 full-time jobs. But wait: it was noted at the time that the concurrent closing of three other Maple Leaf plants meant that the job numbers would remain virtually flat, once the construction phase is completed. The federal government has also invested $20 million in the new plant through the Strategic Innovation Fund, an investment that Innovation Minister Navdeep Bains said would help to “keep Canada competitive in the global market and create new middle class jobs.”

New jobs? It doesn’t look that way.

The global market? Don’t forget that poultry production in Canada is governed by a supply management system.

Bains, of course, is the standard bearer for the five “superclusters” named by the federal government a little more than a year ago. The Prairie-based Protein Industries Supercluster “will make Canada a leading source for plant proteins and, ultimately, feed the world,” the government announced.

One might have thought that Maple Leaf would be an anchor for that.

The company has made some smart strategic moves. Its purchase of Lightlife Foods Holding Inc., based in Massachusetts, and the Field Roast Grain Meat Co. in Seattle, Wash., provided a platform from which to launch its meat-free assault. Lightlife — described by Greenleaf CEO Dan Curtin as the brain child of “two hippies who started making tempeh” — has been producing vegetarian and vegan meat substitutes for 40 years.

Recognizing the rise of the “flexitarian” food trend, Maple Leaf purchased Lightlife two years ago and in January launched the Lightlife Burger and sausages to compete against the Beyond Meat burger and other offerings that are appealing to meat-eating consumers looking to diversify their protein options. Curtin has promised a retail rollout of the Lightlife burger this spring.

The new facility in Shelbyville will double existing production capacity and, the company stated in a release, “support a rich pipeline of innovation.” Perhaps the kind of innovation Canada’s protein supercluster hopes to accomplish.

You’ve got to give Mayor DeBaun credit. Shelbyville city council took the lead in purchasing four parcels of land from two owners totalling more than 170 acres, later drawing the support of county council and the redevelopment commission. The purchase price: $3.9 million (U.S.). Greenleaf has acknowledged that single-owner land control was key to advancing the deal. Greenleaf will pay $1.5 million (U.S.) for 57 acres. The purchase is set to close by the end of next month. Expansion is hoped for: Greenleaf has an option to purchase additional acreage. “This is not a one and done,” Curtin said this week.

In its announcement, Maple Leaf Foods said the $310-million (U.S.) facility, which will employ about 450 people, will be supported by approximately $50 million (U.S.) in government and utility grants and incentives.

At a press conference before the groundbreaking ceremony Curtin promised that the jobs would come with good wages and good benefits, and gave a shout-out to all the supporting partners, from the state governor to Duke Energy to Indiana Water.

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Maple Leaf did not respond to a query as to whether any Canadian sites were considered for turning Maple Leaf, described by Curtin as “a small company up in Canada,” into Greenleaf. The two U.S.-based predecessor facilities, the 10-times population, the strength of the transportation hub (Shelbyville is 50 kilometres southeast of Indianapolis) would have factored into the decision.

Ultimately, it was, as Mayor DeBaun said, a team effort. After the groundbreaking he credited land control, the city pitch and “the confidence we had in ourselves” in landing the plant. Should all go according to plan, a groundbreaking plant protein innovation hub will take root.

In Indiana.

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