Dr. Oetker Canada Ltd., the maker of several frozen pizza brands, desserts and dry baking products, celebrated the 10-year anniversary of its pizza manufacturing facility, in London, Ontario on September 12. This location has served as a production hub for North American pizza operations for the past decade, making an average of 400,000 pizzas per day. Employing 430 people in the province, the company has played a significant role in the agri-food industry in southwestern Ontario.
“We’re proud to call London our Canadian home, a place where our culture of innovation, quality products and fresh thinking can thrive,” said Dino Koundoutsikos, executive vice president for North America. “We have been lucky to benefit from the talented workforce that London region provides, and it has been a pleasure to see many of Londoners begin their agri-food careers working on the plant floor.”
The exclusive anniversary event offered diplomats a special tour of the ultramodern plant. All guests had a unique opportunity to hear from and engage with Dr. Oetker executives, who discussed achievements from the last decade, ongoing activities within Canada, and a commitment to excellence in the future.
“It is an honor to mark the 10th anniversary of this plant and recall the optimism we felt upon cutting the ribbon in 2014, optimism that remains today thanks to the tremendous talents of our London team,” said Dr. Christian von Twickel, a member of the executive board of Bielefeld, Germany-headquartered Dr. Oetker. “Our investment here is a true Canadian success story, and a testament to the robust agri-food community of London, which has become one of the top centers of food production in North America. We believe in local production and manufacturing and look forward to our continued bright future in this great city!”
The origins of the plant began in 2011, when the business made a pivotal decision to shift from importing products internationally to Canada and the USA and instead establish a North American pizza production hub in Ontario. Since opening a decade ago, Dr. Oetker Canada has doubled in size and become the market leader in the nation’s thin crust pizza category and number two in the overall pizza meal market.
Special guests at the commemoration event in addition to Koundoutsikos and Dr. von Twickel, who visited from Dr. Oetker’s headquarters in Germany, included Valery Henle (executive Vice president for North America) and Tobias Bauer (senior executive manager for the pizza production unit).
Dr. Oetker Canada has operated since 1960 and ranks as one of the top five subsidiaries for the food organization, which operates in more than 39 countries. The Canadian operation includes manufacturing and R&D facilities in located in Mississauga as well as London, that produce over 190 products.
