Melet Plastics, Ed Shinewald and worries about OlyWest

The Mission Statement says it all: Melet Plastics goal is to be the Great Canadian Plastics Company.

This morning I had a great visit with Ed Shinewald at Melet Plastics - a home-grown business success story. But he is very concerned for the future of his Manitoba company. Gary Doer and his government is dishing out some $27 million so the OlyWest consortium will build a hog processing plant right next door. Ed relies heavily on his stellar, highly-skilled employees to stay competitive in a tough global market. Ed is concerned that odour and conditions from a hog plant next door will reduce his ability to attract and keep a highly-talented work force.

He is troubled by the possibility that putting a hog plant next door will devalue his life's work at Melet Plastics. For decades, he has put his heart and soul into this successful company and he want to know why Gary Doer is planning to spend $27 million in tax dollars in a way that might seriously undermine what he has worked so hard to accomplish at Melet Plastics.

Mr. Shinewald considers the gentlemen at Hytek (one of the partners in the OlyWest consortium) to be honourable people. He has met with them. He has listened. He thinks they will try hard. But he remains totally opposed to locating the OlyWest Plant in the St. Boniface Industrial Park.

He is right. This industrial park was designed and meant for technical and manufacturing businesses like Melet Plastics - not for a massive hog factory. A hog plant like the one OlyWest is proposing should be located outside of Winnipeg, just like other hogs plants located outside of Brandon and outside of Neepawa. If the provincial government wants to spend tax dollars to help locate OlyWest in a specifically-designed, heavy industrial facility outside of Winnipeg, fine. But the days of putting massive hog plants like OlyWest in the middle of residental and commercial neighbourhoods is over.

Melet Plastics employs more than 100 people. It is an excellent company which markets wonderful plastic products - including canes for those who are visually impaired - worldwide. We need to encourage more companies like Melet Plastics. And, by the way, Melet Plastics was awarded the 2005 Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters Excellence Award.