Mars completes Ontario plant upgrades to increase production capacity

Mars Canada has completed an $180 million investment to modernize manufacturing, expand production capacity and add sustainability and safety upgrades across four Ontario facilities, including a major packaging line project supporting Mars Snacking production in Newmarket.

The multi-year (2022-2026) capital program is distributed across its Ontario sites supporting Mars Snacking, food and nutrition and pet nutrition operations. The company said more than $100 million of the total investment funded three packaging line upgrades designed to improve long-term performance, boost reliability and increase production capacity, including the ability to produce new formats.

For convenience services operators, the Mars Snacking investment is centered at the company’s Newmarket plant, where Mars said it invested $40 million in packaging line improvements for products including Mars Bars and Milky Way. Mars said the upgrades resulted in a 25% increase in overall production capacity on the filled line, a 40% reduction in the filled bar line’s electricity usage and a 75% reduction in compressed air consumption. Mars estimated annual energy savings from the transformation at about 440,487 kilowatt hours.

Mars said the broader Ontario upgrades also include safety equipment systems and sustainability improvements. Similar gains were seen in pet nutrition in Bolton, food and nutrition in Bolton and Royal Canin in Guelph.