Bertha business ceases operations
by Marlo Benning
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SunOpta Ingredients, located on Bertha's main street, is closing down their operations.
On Tuesday, October 2, 16 employees were notified that they were to be laid off from their positions.
SunOpta owns two plants in Alexandria as well. There are several open job positions in Alexandria where they have similar operations as in Bertha.
A number of employees have already interviewed for these openings, according to Scott Gordon, vice president of operations for SunOpta.
Gordon said that they have continually tried to pursue options to sustain business for the Bertha location with not much success. A lot of products that they produce there are dairy commodities, he said.
The dairy market has been up and down which has made it a touchy business to be in, Gordon said. Because of this, he said, they could no longer afford to keep staff in Bertha. At this point, they are holding onto the facility and if sustainable business can be attained, they would consider reopening the plant.
"SunOpta continues to see growth in several key areas of our business model, but unfortunately this was a business decision that had to be made in Bertha," he said.
SunOpta has owned the plant since September of 2000 when it was purchased from Northern Food & Dairy, Inc. Some of the products that were dried at the plant included soy milk, soy sauce, honey and molasses.
Local impact
A big chunk of Bertha's sewer revenue was paid by SunOpta because of their massive wastewater volume, Mayor Bob Larson noted. Without that income to the city it may affect how the city will levy in the future.
Larson said they are taking a proactive approach and will offer SunOpta any help they are able to give them with their situation.