Stefano Camaiani, president and CEO of Triple “A” Cheese, said he was surprised to see media reports last fall about the sudden closure of the Thornloe Cheese plant.
After reading about the Temiskaming-area dairy processor’s strong and loyal customer base, iconic brand and place as a regionally recognized Highway 11 landmark, Camaiani called his former employer, Gay Lea Foods, to inquire about availability.
“I love seeing the passion that comes out of this company. That’s what made me want to do this project,” Camaiani said. “I think it’s amazing that everyone has rallied around this cheese company.”
This week, Thornloe Cheese owner Gay Lea Foods announced it has signed a non-binding letter of intent to sell the shuttered Thornloe Cheese plant and store to Mississauga-based Triple “A” Cheese, one of Canada’s largest feta cheese makers.
While this is an exciting development for many in the region and the latest white knight in a string of northeastern Ontario cheese saviours, the tentative deal is conditional on Triple “A” securing financing to build a new plant in a different location.
If a deal can be reached by 2025, Triple “A” would acquire the plant’s assets, its critical milk supply quota, the brand and the cheese recipes.
“I really hope we can achieve this,” said Camaiani, who wants to grow the business to ensure its sustainability for many generations to come.
Last October, Gay Lea Foods closed the doors of its award-winning cheese factory. Gay Lea attributed the closure to the factory’s dilapidated condition and overall performance, which negated a decision by the company to upgrade the facility.
The condition of the old factory had deteriorated to such an extent that it was no longer salvageable.
Mike Langdon, Gay Lea’s vice president of corporate and cooperative affairs, said the equipment was decades old, had been repaired many times and pinholes were starting to appear in the machines. A $10 million investment was not acceptable to Gay Lea given that it is such a small plant with marginal profits.
“We both believe that a new plant is needed to survive, and that’s what we’re trying to accomplish,” Langdon said.
If he manages to close a deal, Camaiani promises to continue investing for many years to come.
Camaiani knows a little about Gay Lea Foods.
He worked at Salerno Dairy in Hamilton, a family-owned Italian cheese maker, which was acquired by Gay Lea in early 2014.
Camaiani stayed on for four years before resigning and successfully attempting to acquire Triple “A” Cheese in late 2018, growing the business from 20 employees in a 20,000-square-foot plant to 100 employees in a 100,000-square-foot facility near Pearson Airport.
Camaiani, a self-described “cheese guy” who graduated from the University of Wisconsin and has worked in the processing industry since he was a teenager, credits Gay Lea with personally investing in him, teaching him about other aspects of the business and operations beyond the cheesemaking process.
With an eye on expansion, efficiency and daily improvement, Camaiani said he will bring the Triple “A” mindset and approach to Thornloe, promising constant reinvestment in installation and the introduction of new product lines.
“We are always looking to evolve and improve. We are constantly investing in our facility every year to make it bigger and better. That is the same thing we want to do at Thornloe.”
And don’t worry, the Thornloe Cheese name will live on. Camaiani said Thornloe is a well-respected brand in the marketplace. His product will continue to be sold under that brand.
“We come here and we make it bigger, better and stronger.”
If Triple “A” can secure the financing to build the plant, it could open in 2027 or 2028. Initially, the plant would require more than 100 people, double the milk processing workforce at the old plant. Camaiani did not rule out increasing that number to more than 200.
For the Mississauga cheesemaker, Thornloe would be his first shot outside the GTA.
In an interview, Camaiani spoke enthusiastically about an investment of more than $30 million to build a “state-of-the-art” 50,000- to 70,000-square-foot cheese-making plant in a new location, about a 10-minute drive from the existing plant and store on Highway 11, that would be converted into a cold storage facility.
The size of the plant’s footprint will depend on the size of the property it can acquire. It is best to locate the plant in a location that is clearly visible from the highway.
Camaiani could not provide specific figures because they are still in the initial stages of breaking down costs for equipment, building and other things.
Conceptually, he envisions a modern cheese factory that would be a high-end tourist destination, drawing visitors from across the region to a meeting space for wine and cheese gatherings, with party rooms and an educational component offering tours of the factory to visitors and schoolchildren to see the entire processing cycle.
A fresh food store, cafe and catering restaurant would embrace the farm-to-table concept, making full use of what regional producers and growers have to offer.
“We want to satisfy everyone.”
Wanting to get involved in the community, Camaiani spoke about finding housing in the area and committed to using as much local labor as possible in the construction sector.
As for what form a financial package involving lenders, private capital and public funds might take, Camaiani remained vague, but stressed the need for government donors to support the venture.
Banks are less likely to support companies that have no revenue, he said. He hopes strong regional support can convince government lenders to help finance factory construction.
“We are starting from scratch. It will not be easy and that is why we need support,” Camaiani said.
“We want to invest in Northern Ontario, but we need help to do that. But obviously it has to be a win-win situation.”
There are government financing programs to support dairy processors, he said, and Triple “A” has already had access to them. But to qualify for those programs, Camaiani must ultimately reach an agreement on ownership.
As they meet with donors to shore up support, Camaiani said they are also looking for additional milk quotas to fuel an expansion well beyond its current 10 million litres.
“We would really like to double or even quadruple that production. The more milk we can get, the better for us.”
It’s tricky, he said, because of strict supply management rules, which could involve buying or leasing quota from someone who owns it, and paying a premium for the extra milk.
“Anyway, the quality of the factory depends on its milk production.”
He assured that Thornloe’s milk quotas would not leave the region. “We want them here and we want more of them.”
Camaiani said his confidence level in coming up with a plan is very high.
“Gay Lea Foods and Triple “A” Cheese are 1,000% committed to making this happen. We are putting in a lot of effort and doing our best.
“I firmly believe we can do it. We wouldn’t be investing this much time and energy if we weren’t optimistic. There’s a lot of work to do and the results are mixed. We’re really going to push hard to try to get there.”