CANADA  — Canada’s leader in the production, processing and distribution of pork and poultry meats, Olymel has appointed  Yanick Gervais as its new president and chief executive officer. 

Gervais, who has been serving in the position on an interim basis since Oct. 7, succeeds Réjean Nadeau, who died of cancer on Oct. 14.  

Before his promotion, Mr. Gervais was senior vice president of operations at Olymel and was responsible for managing more than 30 pork and poultry processing plants, mostly in Quebec but also in Ontario, Alberta and New Brunswick.  

“I humbly accept to take over Olymel’s leadership, Canada’s leading agri-processing company, to further its growth and success, which my predecessor Réjean Nadeau did with such passion,” Mr. Gervais said.  

“ It will be my duty to preserve the legacy of what has been built in Quebec over the past 30 years, which then spread throughout Canada and made our products travel around the world.” 

Mr. Gervais is trained as an accountant and tax specialist and holds a graduate diploma and a bachelor’s degree in accounting from the Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières, as well as a master’s degree in taxation (MTax) from the Université de Sherbrooke. 

He joined Olymel in 2016 following the acquisition of La Fernandière, a company based in Trois-Rivières specializing in sausage production, of which he had been co-owner and CEO since 2005. 

“It is with great confidence that we welcome Yanick Gervais,” said Ghislain Gervais, chairman of the board of directors of Olymel and Sollio Cooperative Group, Olymel’s primary shareholder.  

“Yanick Gervais is the ideal person to meet the challenges of the agro-processing industry thanks to his organizational skills, his knowledge of operational issues, domestic and foreign markets, his understanding of customer needs, his team spirit and strategic vision for the company’s growth.” 

Earlier, Olymel LP opened new pre-packaging facilities at the company’s poultry processing plant in St. Damase, Montérégie Est, Quebec.  

The project, which cost more than C$30 million, included the addition of a new automated cutting line, three new automated deboning lines, four tray packing lines, a new shipping area and a refrigerated warehouse.  

A total of 35,000 square feet were added to the plant, bringing the available space to a total of 150,000 square feet while expanding the facility’s weekly slaughter capacity to approximately 1 million birds.  

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