UBC Millwrights Build and Maintain Largest Protien Plant in the World

Portage La Prairie, MB – The Roquette Pea processing plant is in Portage La Prairie Manitoba is currently the largest plant of its kind in the world.  At the plant peas are received and the proteins from the peas are produced for meat product substitutes and other protein substitute products.  This project is a part of a global investment by Roquette to ensure the supply of plant protein is secure, safe, and sustainable.  Roquette has positioned itself as a global leader in the new food revolution.

“UBC Millwright Local 1443 and our signatory contractors played pivotal rolls in making the Roquette Pea processing plant one of the most successful Construction to maintenance projects in local 1443 history.  As important as it is to have union labour build a project it is just as important that our contractors offer commissioning and maintenance services to extend facility life and serviceability” said James Szmerski, Local 1443 Business Representative.

Multiple local 1443 signatory contractors all secured work in some form or another under the full Manitoba construction collective bargaining agreement on this project.  When the mechanical portion of construction started in 2019, at peak there was 45 Millwrights on site during the build.  Local 1443 with help of UBC Millwrights from other locals across Canada including Saskatchewan consistently hit deadlines and targets.  Local 1443 and its contractors completed the build safely and successfully.

Over two years after the construction phase Local 1443 still has 20 full time Millwrights working under the current Provincial Collective Bargaining Agreement doing maintenance at the new facility. The maintenance team at the Roquette facility comes from all over Manitoba and provides the plant with 24-7 coverage.

We are constantly expanding our training and skills to become experts in our field and the most reliable partners in the business,” said Mark Beardsworth, Executive Secretary-Treasurer, Millwright Regional Council.

We are continually working to stay competitive in our collective bargaining to offer our top-tier workmanship and assets through all phases of future projects including construction, commissioning, and maintenance.

About the Millwright Regional Council (MRC)
The Millwright Regional Council (MRC) is composed of thirteen affiliated Local Unions of the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America (UBC) across Canada.

We represent thousands of women and men working as progressive cross-trained construction and maintenance professionals with exceptional skills to install, maintain, diagnose, and repair precision machinery.

UBC millwrights are vital partners in industries as diverse as energy, automotive, aerospace, food processing, pharmaceuticals and more. For media inquiries, please contact media@millwrightont.com