Global food processing giant Nestle plans to shut a southeastern Ontario plant and move its work to sites in the U.S., citing a “highly competitive” market.

The company announced Thursday it will start to wind down work late this year at the Nestle Professional plant at Trenton, where dehydrated dry-blend and frozen products are made mainly for the U.S. restaurant and hospitality sectors.

The plant is expected to close in stages with the first products transferring to U.S. plants in late 2021 ahead of a “full shutdown” at Trenton by mid-2022, Nestle said.

In a release, Nestle said the foodservice industry is “highly competitive” and volumes in the U.S. have “continually outpaced” Canadian volumes, meaning over 80 per cent of the Trenton plant’s annual output is now shipped to the U.S.

The Trenton plant, Nestle said, “is part of a North American manufacturing network and the U.S. foodservice factories have capacity to absorb the production.”

However, the company said it “remain(s) focused on growing the Nestle foodservice business in Canada and staking out a post-pandemic leadership position in out-of-home solutions.”

Nestle emphasized its decision “in no way reflects the performance of our dedicated team members who work tirelessly to provide the highest quality products.” Local media reports put the plant’s current workforce at about 200 people.

The Trenton plant in the previous decade underwent two upgrades, including a project to streamline operations at the site in 2010, and a 30,000-square-foot expansion in 2011 creating new lines for both frozen and dehydrated food processing. — Glacier FarmMedia Network