Today I am very pleased to welcome Portuguese manufacturing company Frulact to Kingston – and yes, this is the big announcement I was referring to the media a few weeks back. Frulact is a food processing company that specializes in the production of fruit based products. I am delighted that they have chosen Kingston as their Canadian base of operations as they expand their business into the North American market.
Without question, this investment is a big deal for Kingston. Frulact will bring up to 50 new jobs and over $15 million in investment to our community. It will also contribute to the growth of an agri-food cluster here in Kingston. Attracting a European manufacturing company like Frulact shows that Kingston can compete in a global economy and this investment helps to put our community on the map with other overseas companies looking at North America.
This is also a big deal for Ontario. According to the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA), this is one of only a handful of successful foreign direct investments in the agri-food industry over the last few years.
As Mayor, I want to personally thank all those who have been involved in making this success a reality for our community. In particular I would like to recognize KEDCO and City of Kingston staff who have worked on this project, OMAFRA, the Canadian embassy in Portugal and of course the senior management at Frulact for choosing Kingston.
This is a proud day for our community and I look forward to further wins for our city and for our economy in the days ahead.