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JBS Foods Canada is investing about $90 million in a new patty processing line and fulfilment centre at its Brooks plant, a move that will trigger an estimated $10.7-million tax credit from the Alberta government.

The province announced Thursday that JBS Foods Canada, a subsidiary of Brazil-based JBS S.A., has qualified for the province’s Agri-Processing Investment Tax Credit program by expanding its facility in the southern Alberta city, about 160 kilometres southeast of Calgary.

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Construction on the processing line and warehouse expansion has started and is expected to be completed by the fall of 2025, creating up to 24 permanent jobs and 170 temporary ones at one of Canada’s largest beef processing companies, which employs more than 2,800 employees.

“JBS is a cornerstone in Brooks, creating jobs and ensuring Alberta’s world-renowned beef makes it to the millions who love to eat it,” Premier Danielle Smith, the MLA for Brooks-Medicine Hat, said in a Thursday statement.

“This expansion is great news for JBS, Brooks and Alberta as a whole, showing the importance of our Agri-Processing Investment Tax Credit. Our local and provincial economies are growing and that’s exciting to see.”

The province says it started offering the tax credit program in the spring of 2023 in a bid to attract “even more large-scale investment in agri-food manufacturing.”

“This tax credit program is building on Alberta’s existing competitive advantages for agri-food companies and the primary producers that supply them,” Agriculture and Irrigation Minister RJ Sigurdson said in a statement. “This facility expansion will allow JBS Canada to increase its beef production capacity, which means more Alberta beef patties on the grill in restaurants across the country.”

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Under the program, companies must invest at least $10 million in a project to build or expand a value-added agri-processing facility in Alberta, and the program provides a 12 per cent non-refundable tax credit based on qualifying project costs. For JBS, that means roughly $10.7 million back on its estimated $90-million investment.

JBS Foods Canada president Celio Fritche said the expansion was possible “in no small part” due to the tax credit.

“(The expansion) significantly enhances our value-added processing and fulfilment capabilities,” said Fritche.

In 2013, JBS acquired Edmonton-based company XL Foods’ Lakeside beef-packing plant in Brooks. It had just reopened after being shut down due to a massive E. coli outbreak, which led to the largest beef recall in Canadian history.

Beef, restaurant industries welcome Brooks plant expansion

Once construction on the expansion is done, JBS Foods Canada will be able to produce an additional seven million kilograms of beef patties every year for western Canadian restaurants, according to a news release from the province.

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With restaurants seeing operating costs rise dramatically, the expansion of the JBS Brooks facility is good news for the industry, a Restaurants Canada official said Friday.

“Any new food production would be welcomed by the industry, as adding more food supply and competition will hopefully reduce increasing food cost pressures,” Mark von Schellwitz said in a statement to Postmedia. “Operating cost pressures for restaurants have grown by more than 20 per cent in the last two years alone, so any boost to the supply chain is a win for operators.”

Any beef supply chain expansion is a positive sign for the industry, said an Alberta Beef Producers official.

“The demand for Alberta beef remains strong, and we’re eager to see continued growth in the sector,” Brad Dubeau, the organization’s general manager, said Friday.

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