| Florenceville:
Home of a Potato Empire
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A
Diversified Modern Economy
While the economy of the Saint
John River Valley continues
to draw on the natural resources
of soil, forests and fast-flowing
water, and the primary industries
of agriculture and tree harvesting,
an ongoing diversification process
has led to new sectors of food
processing, value-added wood
products manufacturing, and
petroleum refining. In the cities
of Fredericton and Saint John,
small business enterprises,
service industries and educational
institutions such as the University
of New Brunswick have become
important contributors to economic
life; the city of Fredericton
is now the information technology
capital of the province, and
the largest IT centre in the
Maritimes next to Halifax, Nova
Scotia. Tourism is also a growing
segment of the Saint John Valley
economy.
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At first glance, the small village of Florenceville,
New Brunswick, on the banks of the Saint
John River between Woodstock and Grand Falls,
may seem like an unlikely location for the
headquarters of one of the world's largest
food processing corporations. But it was
the potato fields of Florenceville, and
the entrepreneurial instincts of a family
descended from early 19th century Irish
immigrants, that launched the empire of
McCain Foods, the world's largest french-fry
manufacturer.
McCain Foods was founded in 1957 by Harrison
and Wallace McCain, descendants of McCains
who arrived to farm in the Florenceville
area in the 1820's. The original McCain
processing plant, built on the Saint John
River in Florenceville, continues to supply
a significant percentage of the company's
total frozen food production in Canada,
and is the company's international headquarters.
The McCain empire now extends around the
globe, operating 55 production facilities
on 6 continents, and employing 18,000 people.
The company has expanded its product line
to include many other processed foods, but
frozen french-fries continue to be the foundation
of its business, supplying over 30% of the
world market.
Saint John River Valley potato farms are
a major supplier to the Florenceville production
facility. In 2001, the New Brunswick potato
crop was valued at $93.4 million, more than
half of the province's total crop value
of $184 million.
Electric
Generating Stations of the Saint John
Power generation is big business in New
Brunswick, and the Saint John River is one
of the industry's mainstays. The hydroelectric,
coal, heavy fuel oil and nuclear generating
stations of the province have a net generating
capacity of 4,116 MW, allowing it to offer
competitive prices and to maintain a significant
power exporting industry. Hydroelectric
stations on the Saint John River include:
• Grand Falls - The oldest hydro
station on the Saint John, completed in
1931, with a capacity of 63 MW. The dam
is situated at the top of the natural falls,
with the water intake feeding a pressure
tunnel that runs under the town to the powerhouse.
• Tobique Narrows - Named for
one of the largest tributaries of the Upper
Saint John. Completed in 1953, with a capacity
of 20 MW.
• Beechwood - Located
160 kilometres north of Fredericton. Built
in 1956, with a capacity of 113 MW.
• Mactaquac - Largest hydroelectric
generating station in New Brunswick, with
a capacity of 672 MW. Built between 1968
and 1980. Located 19 kilometres up the Saint
John River from Fredericton. Named for the
Maliseet word meaning "big branch,"
for the stream that flows into the river.
The dam's large headpond has become a recreational
area.
Shipbuilding
in Saint John
The natural assets that made
the port of Saint John, New Brunswick the
largest wooden shipbuilding centre in Canada
during the mid 1800's (and the 4th largest
in the British Empire) continue to sustain
the city's modern shipbuilding industry
in the 21st century. A sheltered, natural
harbour with deep, unrestricted approaches
that remains ice-free provides an advantageous
location for the shipyard of Saint John
Shipbuilding (a division of Irving Shipbuilding
Incorporated).
Tall ringer cranes tower over the company's
sprawling shipbuilding yard, which includes
a module erection shop, steel shop with
automated assembly line, blast and paint
shop, pipe factory, joiner shop, assembly
shop, main graving dock, tidal dock, wharf
and pier. For the past 70 years, the company
has designed, engineered and constructed
a wide range of vessels, including offshore
drilling platforms, tug boats, container
ships, aluminum life boats, drill ships,
coastal defence vessels, navy frigates,
ice breakers, and product carriers.
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Top
and Bottom: The Pulp and Paper
Industries of Edmunston and
Saint John
Like economic bookends to the
Saint John River, major pulp
and paper facilities in Edmunston,
in the Upper Saint John Valley,
and the city of Saint John,
at the river's mouth, continue
to draw on the natural resources
of the region's forestry sector.
Nexfor Incorporated operates
the Fraser Paper pulp and paperboard
operation at Edmunston, (now
being combined with a specialty
paper operation at Madawaska),
while Irving Paper Incorporated
employs 400 people at its Saint
John facility, with an annual
newsprint and specialty paper
production capacity of 320,000
tones. |
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