Amalgamated Dairies Limited is Prince Edward Island

Prince Edward Island

Prince Edward Island is a Canadian province consisting of an island of the same name, as well as other islands. The maritime province is the smallest in the nation in both land area and population...

's largest dairy

Dairy

A dairy is a business enterprise established for the harvesting of animal milk—mostly from cows or goats, but also from buffalo, sheep, horses or camels —for human consumption. A dairy is typically located on a dedicated dairy farm or section of a multi-purpose farm that is concerned...

 production company, with five milk processing plants. ADL employees 250 Islanders and owns several other businesses including Johnson's Tire and Automotive, and also Farm Enterprises Inc. (a beef and hog processing company). ADL sells about 20% of its products on PEI; the rest are sold in other provinces

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

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The beginning

ADL began life in April 1953, when the Government of Prince Edward Island enacted a "Special Act of Incorporation." The goal of the government at that time was to have one central plant that would produce cheese, butter and milk for Western Prince Edward Island. The companies that would be amalgamated into ADL were:

• The Dunk River Dairying Company
• The Kensington Dairying Co-operative Association Limited
• The Tryon Dairying Company
• The Abram's Village Dairying Co-operative Association Limited
• The Grand River Dairying Co-operative Association Limited
• The Tyne Valley Dairying Company.

Expansion

By 1955, ADL was already established on PEI. To expand the company, other small companies were purchased. The first of these purchases was in 1955, when ADL acquired the O'Leary Butter Factory. This purchase allowed ADL to break into the egg and poultry sectors. In 1958 ADL purchased the Olympia Ice Cream Company, whose brand is still in use today.

In the 1980s ADL moved into the buttercup packaging business with the purchase of the Crapaud Creamery Company. 1983 saw the ADL build a large, multi-temperature food distribution warehouse, which they used to serve the institutional and retail sectors with butter and milk.

In the late 1980s ADL purchased the Island dairy operations of Maple Leaf Dairy (1986) and Garden City Dairy (1987). In 1991, Perfection Foods Limited, an Island producer of milk and other related products, went bankrupt. This provided ADL with an opportunity to expand its operations significantly in PEI. ADL purchased Perfection Foods Limited, who still operate under their own brand name.

Reorganization

By 1992, it was becoming obvious that to survive in the cheese industry, ADL would have to diversify its productions. ADL began producing different types of cheese in 1992:

• Havarti (1992)
• Feta (1993)
• Spiced Havarti (1993)
• "Lite" and fat-reduced Feta (1997)
• Spiced Feta (1997)
• 40% fat-reduced "lite" cheddar cheese (1997)

Statistics

In 2005, ADL sold $105 million dollars worth of products and had $32 million dollars in assets. The Island market accounts for 20% of ADL's sales. The majority of ADL's sales are in other provinces of Canada, under either the ADL brand or store brands.