HAMILTON, ONT. — A Canada Bread plant was shut down on Nov. 24 after a fire, believed to be electrical in nature, broke out. The fire caused approximately $500,000 in damages, but no employees were injured.
Canada Bread, which was acquired by Grupo Bimbo S.A.B. de C.V. in February, opened the Hamilton plant in 2011. It was billed as Canada’s largest commercial bakery, comprising a 385,000-square-foot facility to make a variety of products, including white and whole wheat bread, buns, English muffins and tortillas. The Hamilton bakery replaced three of the company’s five Ontario plants. These older facilities averaged 70,000 square feet in size and more than 50 years in age.
The bakery represented an approximate $100 million investment by Canada Bread’s previous owner, Maple Leaf Foods, to support the company’s long-term growth as Canada’s leading bakery and increase manufacturing efficiencies through scale and technology. The plant employs 300 workers.
