MORRISBURG – A new soy bean processing project is planning to begin production in 2026, with work already underway on the plant on Allison Avenue.
Alinova Canada, a joint venture between DJHII and Maursan Ai, the second largest soymilk producer in Japan, will convert the former Homestead Organics facility in Morrisburg to process food-grade soy beans into powder for use in soymilk and other soy-based products. The $24 million venture will receive a $6.7 million investment from Protein Industries Canada.
DJHII founder David Hendrick, a founding partner of Sevita International, is executive vice president of the new venture and spoke to The Leader about the company’s plans.
“It’s a project I have been picking away at for a while,” Hendrick explained. “Most of our soy bean production is unprocessed and sent out of the country to be processed. We want to bring some of that production here.”
The venture plans to start production in January 2026, and work is already underway to convert the leased facility to process soybeans.
The plant, once completed, will take food-grade soybeans and grind them, adding water to create what Hendrick called “a mush.” The resulting liquid in that mush is separated, dried, and turned into a soy powder which can be used in many applications from being reconstituted for soy milk, or as soy protein for other food products.
The Morrisburg facility, once up to capacity, will produce about 1,000 tonnes of soy powder per year. Hendricks said the goal is to reach that point by 2028.
When production starts, he expected to have six to eight employees on site, growing to about 16-20 by the time the facility is at full production.
“The objective is to create a legacy for Eastern Ontario as a processor,” Hendrick said. “The federal government decided we weren’t doing a good job with further processing. They invested money, we’re investing some money and working on further processing in our country.”
At a pilot-scale facility, the company is already testing product with two Canadian food companies, Earth’s Own, and Flamaglo Foods for use in the domestic market.
The company also plans to work with other local companies from the logistics of shipping the soy powder, to finding a use for the okara or mush left over from production. One idea is to use the okara in a bio-digester plant to produce natural gas. Hendrick confirmed that the company is looking at the GET Corp. bio-digester project near Brinston.
Hendrick said he will be meeting with Municipality of South Dundas officials in the coming weeks about the project.
“We have started to turn the wheels,” he said. “We have a great partner in Japan, and established companies in Canada to work with. This project is about the community, and it’s good for the community to have this production here.”
Ontario is the top soy producer in Canada, growing over one million hectares (2.5 million acres) of the beans per year. In the past 10 years, there has been a 30 per cent increase in soy production in Canada – 82 per cent of the production is in Ontario.
Discover more from Morrisburg Leader
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.