It’s been announced since 2019 that the shutdown of the Whippet Cookie Factory will become a reality this August. About 150 workers are affected.
Posted at 9:00 am
The news was announced to employees last May. This was not by surprise. The plant was first scheduled to close in 2020, then the fateful date was pushed back to 2021.
“During COVID, issues including travel restrictions have delayed the full implementation of our expansion at our Cambridge, Ontario plant,” Sidney Dare, director of media relations at Dare Foods, said in an email. “We are grateful for the dedication and flexibility of these employees at the Saint-Lambert factory, particularly during this challenging period leading up to the plant’s closure,” she adds.
This would then be the end of Whippets made in Quebec. The famous marshmallow and chocolate biscuit was created in 1901 by the Viau biscuit manufacturer. Evidence of the place it occupies in the folk history of Quebec City, the Whippet was given its exhibition at the Écomusée du fier monde in 2008.
The dilapidated factory, which opened in 1963, is to be demolished to make way for a residential development.
In this regard, the Dare Coupal project – named after the building’s previous occupants, Dare and Rona-Matériaux Coupal – led by Pur Immobilia, provided for the construction of a series of three to eight storey buildings very close to the station as well as local shops and several green spaces .
In response to popular discontent, the city of Saint-Lambert has since proposed a new private urban plan that limits the number of floors in the two lots. Public consultations are scheduled for this month. Urban planning tools are scheduled to be adopted in July.
Expansion in Saint Martin
Dare still has a presence in Quebec, in Sainte-Martine, in Montérégie. In particular, rusks and croutons of the Grissol brand are made there.
“We are introducing a new line of products there, we are expanding the building, we are installing a new production line and we are hiring new employees to work on this new line and this new product,” Sidney Dare said, without giving further details. the details.
A privately owned Canadian family business that began operations in 1892, Dare currently employs 1,300 people. Cookies, crackers, rusks and sweets are sold in more than 50 countries.
