KITCHENER -- Breslau's Conestoga Meat Packers will receive $150,000 in funding to upgrade equipment in order to improve production and safety at the plant.

In a new release on Monday, Kitchener-Conestoga MPP Mike Harris announced the funds as part of a joint $7 million investment by the provincial and federal government to increase production and efficiency in meat processing plants.

“On top of COVID-19, limited processing capacity has presented numerous challenges for Waterloo Region’s farmers,” said Harris. “This investment will help alleviate some of those pressures by increasing productivity at Conestoga Meats while also making the jobs of their employees safer and easier.”

The funding, provided through the Canadian Agricultural Partnership, is set to go towards the automated box lifting equipment to increase packaging efficiencies at Conestoga Meats.

“The new equipment provides added support from a Health and Safety standpoint, making jobs easier and more efficient,” said Arnold Drung, President of Conestoga Meats.

Conestoga Meat Packers was also the site of a large scale COVID-19 outbreak that was first declared last December. The company said it brought in a number of health and safety measures following the rise in cases connected to the facility.