The biggest apple packing and storage business in Eastern Canada will get a $2 million provincial loan to retool its packing system.
The Nova Scotia government on Thursday announced a loan through its Industrial Expansion Fund to Scotian Gold Co-operative Ltd. at Coldbrook, just west of Kentville in Kings County.
The loan will help the company “increase productivity and efficiency to meet a worldwide demand for a high-quality, premium-priced product,” the province said in a release, and will help Scotian Gold maintain its $2.8 million payroll, which includes 75 jobs.
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The company’s expansion involves converting its apple packing system to a new pre-sorting system, which in turn will increase capacity, provide quicker turnaround time on orders and consistent quality sizing of graded apples, and expand markets for high-quality apples.
“The new technologies could, potentially, expand the entire apple industry in Nova Scotia,” the province said.
“We have a committed group of progressive growers who have invested heavily in new orchard systems that are yielding increased production of high-quality and premium apples,” Scotian Gold CEO David Cudmore said in the province’s release.
“This significant expansion and modernizing of the facility provides the needed infrastructure to move our industry forward.”
