More space for more potatoes

New Annan sees new development at Cavendish Farms

Cavendish Farms has two new potato storage facilities under construction in New Annan.

Construction began in May and will be wrapping up in October, said Mary Keith, vicepresident of communications for J.D. Irving.

Total square footage of the project is 88,000 square feet, with about 50 to 60 contact workers on site daily, she said.

In total, the project will generate 120,000 hours of construction work for employees.

The project’s design and materials, as well as new stateof-the-art technology, make this a first of its kind in North America, said Keith.

One of the several Island contractors, Maritime Precast in Kensington, is supplying the concrete wall panels — 336 of them, all weighing 12,000 pounds each.

The two new buildings under construction will hold 48 million pounds of potatoes combined to supply the plant mainly in the summer until fall harvest.

“The new buildings are replacing six older, less efficient buildings that do not have refrigeration.”

Refrigeration is important because without it, the potatoes can shrink before processing, the spokeswoman said.

The environmental benefits were considered during this project, reducing the current carbon footprint, as it will require 35 per cent less fossil fuels to operate, said Keith.

New Annan’s facility employs 668 people who represent the largest portion of North American production; other Cavendish plants are in Alberta and North Dakota.