Based in La Broquerie, the HyLife pork production and processing company has grown more than one rural town by recruiting workers from abroad. A significant asset for rural municipalities, but also for the company, which is now an international success story.
When HyLife purchased a new meat processing plant in Neepawa in 2008, its owners at the time, Paul, Denis and Claude Vielfaure and Don Janzen, had to turn to recruiting international workers to fill the new positions created. Since that time, the company has regularly welcomed workers from abroad, most of whom have settled in rural Manitoba and become permanent residents or citizens of Canada.
The long-term presence of these newcomers is an undeniable asset to their host communities. Baerbel Langner, HyLife’s immigration and legal counsel for the past six years, notes that since 2008 in Neepawa, “the number of families has increased, there are new basketball leagues, new daycares, school expansions, new housing developments, etc. We are seeing a lot of new families coming to Neepawa,” says Langner. “You see that in Neepawa, but also everywhere else where HyLife operates, on a smaller scale.”
Deputy Reeve of the Rural Municipality of La Broquerie, Ivan Normandeau says that “HyLife has brought a lot of construction to the municipality. In 2020 alone, our home building permits have doubled! HyLife is a big part of that. As well, the two schools in La Broquerie, Saint-Joachim and Arborgate School, see their enrolment increase year after year.”
The job creation associated with HyLife’s expansions is also an economic driver for the rural municipality. “When I left in 2019, we were able to create more than 300 jobs in our rural community by recruiting newcomers to our company,” says Claude Vielfaure.
“Their impact on the company itself is also notable. Immigration has been and remains an essential element of the company’s success, both in Canada and internationally,” says Claude Vielfaure. “Without bringing in workers from abroad, we would never have been able to increase our production and reach so many markets around the world.”
Labour immigration success stories, both for newcomers and for those who welcomed them, that can be attributed to the deliberate efforts of HyLife, in partnership with the host municipalities, to help these international workers settle in their host communities to the best of their ability.
The company also relies on the strength and solidarity of the Filipino community, since most of its workers come from this Southeast Asian country. A sense of community that resonates perfectly with the rural environment, where villagers know each other and spontaneously help each other.
“Thanks to our immigration program, we’ve seen incredible growth in our company,” concludes HyLife’s communications manager Kevin Geisheimer. “In addition, it’s very rewarding for everyone to have all these cultures and skills working together.”
Today, HyLife is Canada’s leading hog production company with 3.4 million hogs produced and 3.2 million hogs processed, and its meat is exported to more than 20 countries.
Melanie felt very welcome
“I came to Manitoba with my family from my home country of the Philippines in January 2014 to work at HyLife. Not only did this job offer speed up our immigration process, but thanks to HyLife, the transition to our new life has been very easy for us!
“We came to join my brother, who had already been employed with the company since 2009. And we immediately felt very welcomed by HyLife and our new community at the General Lee Farm near Steinbach.
“I really appreciate all that HyLife has done for us, and all that they continue to do for those who arrive. When we arrived, they even allowed us to wait a little while before starting work, so that we could find the same work site for my husband and me.”
Next week, discover a new history of our communities. What is it?
Here’s a little quote to give you a hint…
“Rural life has brought me a lot and enriched me. You take more time to think about yourself and others. In the city, everything goes much faster.”
