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Maple Leaf Farms to Close Franksville Farm and Processing Plant
June 2008
Milford, IN— Maple Leaf Farms announced it will permanently close its Franksville, Wis., duck farm and processing facility in an effort to respond to rising feed ingredient and operating costs. This move is part of a plan to consolidate and centralize operations its Midwest operations. The closings, which will take place over the next few months, will result in the elimination of approximately 175 positions.
“We struggled to make this decision because it is a difficult time to displace any employees,” said Co-President Scott Tucker. “Unfortunately, we have analyzed the situation, and the only way we can cope with skyrocketing feed costs brought on by the government’s misguided ethanol policies is to cut our own production and consolidate some of our operations.”
The company’s plans include expanding operations at its Milford, Ind., facilities through the addition of a third work shift at its processing plant. Positions in Indiana will be open to the interested employees from its Franksville operations. For employees who would like to stay in the Franksville area, the company will provide job counseling to help them find new employment or file for unemployment and related benefits.
“We are very disappointed that we must close down our Franksville operations and want to do what we can to help the folks who have been part of our company transition into other employment,” said Co-President John Tucker. “At the same time, we realize that this consolidation puts our business in a better position to take advantage of growth opportunities and weather the on-going extreme volatility in commodities pricing.”
After closing the farm, plant and associated operations, the company will list the property with a commercial realtor. The plant and other buildings will remain on the property.
“Our family is sad to see this operation close, but we have to respond to the business challenges we face,” said Scott Tucker. “Feed ingredients represent nearly half of our annual operating costs. In the last year, every single feed ingredient we use has gone up in price, and many have doubled or tripled. Although we initially tried to absorb these costs, we realized we needed to cut production and consolidate operations to try to offset the costs.”
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