Dainty Foods CEO reassures Windsor jobs safe amid U.S. expansion

Dainty Foods reassures the community it will stay in Windsor, despite looking to start operations in the U.S. CTV Windsor’s Travis Fortnum has the details.

The head of Dainty Foods is working to ease concerns after news the Windsor-based company will build a facility in the U.S.

CEO James Maitland confirmed in a recent interview that the company is ‘looking to build a facility that’s about 250,000 square feet in the U.S.,’ and ‘hoping it comes online in December of next year.’

The announcement sparked questions about whether Dainty might be shifting away from Windsor, where the company has operated for more than 140 years.

Maitland insisted that isn’t the case.

“I think the decision makes a lot of sense for our business,” Maitland told AM800’s Mornings with Mike and Meg.

“We’ve invested $35 million in the last three years into Canada, expanding the Canadian operation and the Canadian operation is continuing to grow. We’re opening a new distribution center here in Windsor that will be fully operational by the end of January. That’s going to add another 30 jobs to the Dainty food family here in Windsor.”

Maitland said Dainty’s Windsor plant will remain central to its Canadian operations, with the U.S. site designed to serve that market specifically.

“Investing in the US is only going to make Dainty Canada stronger because of the synergies between the two organizations. But there is zero risk for Dainty Canada at all.”

Maitland first discussed the expansion on The Food Professor Podcast late last week, prompting concern it could be a step toward relocating to dodge tariffs.

Dalhousie University food researcher Sylvain Charlebois said he understands the anxiety, especially after Diageo announced it would close its Amherstburg bottling facility and move production to Illinois.

But he stresses this case is different.

“We need to celebrate companies that invest elsewhere around the world to brand Canada,” Charlebois told CTV News Tuesday.

“Dainty Foods is the opposite of what happened a few weeks ago with Crown Royal, which is great.”

Maitland acknowledged that trade tensions have been a challenge.

“Our situation was, back in April with the U.S. launching tariffs in Canada and then our counter tariffs, we were being tariffed on both sides of the border. So not too many companies can take a 50 per cent hit on their cost structure,” he said.

“It was a pretty scary time for us.”

He noted the company received relief from Ottawa and stressed that Canadian operations remain secure.

“We’re very happy to be in Windsor. We love the area. We love everything that Canada has been able to do for our company over the last 140 years.”