Wyman's buys 8,000 acres, expands factory
Courtesy of Wyman's
Wyman's expanded facility on Prince Edward Island.
Wyman's of Maine, the country's largest supplier of premium wild blueberry products, is acquiring over 8,000 acres in New Brunswick and expanding its factory on Prince Edward Island.
Wyman's, a 140-year-old company that is known as the largest U.S.-owned grower and processor of wild blueberries, announced on Tuesday the land purchase and processor expansion, the latter of which will increase its processing capacity and add 100 full-time and seasonal jobs.
The blueberry company said it recently signed a purchase agreement with a private owner for the land in northern New Brunswick, adding to the 1,000 acres it already owns in the Canadian province. The more than 8,000 acres of new land could eventually yield at least 5,000 acres of blueberry cropland, the company added. Terms of the sale were not disclosed.
Wyman's said it will open its new Prince Edward Island factory on Aug. 1, adding 125,000 square feet to the company's existing facility, adding 13 million pounds of blueberry processing capacity and adding 10 more pounds of cold storage capacity. The expansion will more than double and triple the facility's previous capacity for processing and storage, respectively.
To support the new space, Wyman's is expected to hire 25 full-time and 75 seasonal employees, doubling the facility's current workforce there.
Ed Flanagan, Wyman's president and CEO, said in a prepared statement that the land purchase and factory expansion will help the company achieve its primary objective: increasing its supply.
“We have been looking at several strategic opportunities to expand our berry supply, but as soon as we toured the land, this jumped to the front of the line,” he said. “Our sales have been very strong thanks to the health benefits of wild blueberries and our own marketing efforts.
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