Tentative sale agreement could save northern Ont. cheesemaker

The owner of Thornloe Cheese announced Wednesday it has a tentative agreement in place to sell the northern Ontario cheesemaker to Mississauga-based Triple "A" Cheese.

Gay Lea Foods said in a news release that the agreement to sell is contingent on Triple "A" Cheese securing “financing to construct a new facility near the current location. “

“The proposed terms of sale would see Triple "A" Cheese acquire all Thornloe Cheese assets, including the plant, brand, cheese recipes and plant supply quota,” the release said.

Gay Lea announced bought the facility in 2019. In October 2023, however, it said it was closing the business because of the high cost of modernizing the plant.

That decision followed an inspection to determine what would be needed to bring it up to “modern food safety and quality standards.”

An artist’s rendering of the proposed Thornloe Cheese concept. (Supplied)

It emerged that, given the plant’s age, condition and food safety risk, upgrades would require a minimum investment of $10 million. At that price, the recommendation was to close the facility because the plant wasn’t considered strong enough financially.

Thornloe Cheese opened in 1940 and opened the current plant in 1969 on Highway 11 just north of Temiskaming Shores.

Gay Lea announced last March it was in talks to sell Thornloe. While financial details weren’t released Wednesday, the company said they agreed “to a significantly advantaged sale price for the buyer, as well as deferred payment terms.”

“We are pleased to have found a buyer with an innovative vision for Thornloe Cheese,” Suzanna Dalrymple, president and CEO, Gay Lea Foods, said in the release.

“We are really trying to do what’s right by the community and try to give this new business the best opportunity to succeed,” said Mike Langdon, the vice president, corporate & co-⁠operative affairs for Gay Lea.

Requires 'significant investment'

“The current Thornloe Cheese plant requires significant investment and is no longer financially viable. We believe a different concept, and a new facility, are needed for the brand to thrive in northern Ontario – and we’re hopeful the considerable effort invested in this project – by both organizations – will deliver that outcome.”

If financing is secured, the plan is to build a larger cheese manufacturing facility, with greater milk receiving capacity on a more suitable local property, serviced by municipal water supply and wastewater treatment.

“A tourist and local destination at the new location, complete with a fresh food store, coffee shop or deli restaurant, party rooms, and a vibrant patio and outdoor space,” the release said.

The existing Thornloe Cheese location would become a cold storage facility. If all goes well, the revamped operation would employ 100 people and provide “a permanent facility to process local dairy farmers’ milk.”

An artist’s rendering of the proposed Thornloe Cheese concept. (Supplied)

“All of us at Triple "A" Cheese are excited by the prospect of turning this beloved, local brand into a destination that serves the community and attracts tourism to northern Ontario,” Stefano Camaiani, president and CEO of Triple ‘A’ Cheese, said in the release.

“We must caution, however, that this is an ambitious project and there are no shortcuts. A new facility is needed and comes with significant funding requirements. There remains much work to be done.”

Financing would have to come from multiple sources, including governments.

Officials with Triple 'A' told CTV News they are talking with government agencies about their interests.

“When Gay Lea announced the closure and when I announced that in the legislature, both the Minister of Northern Development and Minister of Agriculture came to my desk and offered support," said Timiskaming-Cochrane MPP John Vanthof.

"I’m fully looking forward to working together to make this project a success.”

“We want to work and make that grass-fed because it’s bigger and better with the regular milk supply," Camaiani said Wednesday.

"We want to try as much as possible to make this facility work.”

Would reopen in 2027 or 2028

If financing efforts are successful, the companies expect the sale to close in 2025, with the new plant to open in 2027 or 2028.

Triple "A" Cheese will also explore the possibility of restoring limited interim cheese-making at the current Thornloe plant, using equipment repurposed from its operations.

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Gay Lea said it will continue skimming grass-fed milk at Thornloe Cheese until October 2024, as it has done since the plant stopped making cheese in October 2023.

After October, Gay Lea Foods said will stop receiving grass-fed milk at Thornloe Cheese, but will continue paying farmers the grass-fed premium until March 31, 2025.

With files from CTVNorthernOntario.ca journalist Eric Taschner