The Cultivated B has purchased one of the city’s largest industrial buildings and plans to hire more than 200 people of diverse backgrounds and skill sets.
The former L3Harris site, which sat vacant for a few years at 649 North Service Rd., will be The Cultivated B’s Canadian manufacturing facility and innovation hub. The opening of the 130,000 sq.-ft. facility is part of a strategic partnership with Ontario Genomics, a government-funded non-profit organization.
The German bioengineering company will develop and produce bioreactors ranging in size from 500 ml to 25,000 litres, along with other cellular agriculture and precision fermentation devices at the site. The Cultivated B. will invest more than $50 million here.
It’s the second largest industrial building in Burlington and the investment represents the largest new industrial purchase in more than a decade, said Anita Cassidy, executive director of Burlington Economic Development.
“We are very excited that we were able to support them in finding the location, and we feel The Cultivated B is an ideal fit for the space,” Cassidy said. “The work The Cultivated B is doing in the field of biotechnology and cellular agriculture has the potential to be truly groundbreaking, changing the way we think about plant-based resources.
“Burlington is already home to a thriving food and beverage sector, and The Cultivated B will be a welcomed addition as a true leader in innovation.”
Dr. Hamid Noori, co-founder and Co-CEO of The Cultivated B, said the Oct. 27 opening, attended by a host of prominent politicians including Minister of Economic Development of Ontario, Vic Fedeli, was very exciting. It will be the two-year-old company’s first location outside of Germany, while its parent company InFamilyFoods Group is 130 years old.
Noori said they will be hiring mechanics, mechanical engineers, CNC drills and press operators, electrical technicians, chemical engineers, plant biologists, people with strong administrative backgrounds, accounting and more.
“We’re going to employ a broad range of skill sets and expertise,” he said.
The Cultivated B will produce the machinery that will be used by other companies to produce alternative proteins.
“It’s a very different process, it’s not just future ways of eating. These bioreactors can produce intensely complicated vaccines and complex medications for humans, and there’s a shortage of these particularly in
Canada,” Noori said, noting the company will produce and supply to pharmaceutical companies, and its systems could be used by the cosmetics industry, nutrition, health or skin care.
The Cultivated B’s parent company is a traditional food processing company producing typical sausage and processed meats to Central Europe, particularly Germany.
Noori said the company’s new owners are very forward thinking and their ethical standards are changing. “We need to accept this and be part of this change, and help transform industry from within, using more modern technological ways to produce alternative proteins that will also be more in line with animal welfare.
"They approach this with a high level of sincerity. Our company is looking to make change, and is paving the way to a sustainable future locally, regionally, and globally.”
The CEO said the first jobs should begin opening in November and they’ll be looking for people from Burlington and beyond over the next two years.
“We very much look forward to meeting these skilled and enthusiastic employees,” he said. “We are very forward thinking and care sincerely for our employees.”
Noori added that they are excited to be here and very grateful for the support they have received, particularly from the City of Burlington.
“They have been very helpful, along with the Canadian Trade Commissioner's office, Invest in Canada and Halton Region.
The Cultivated B is breaking new ground in the development of advanced biotechnology and bioengineering to enhance access to plant and cell-based alternative protein sources. Its growing multinational team of scientists uses cellular agriculture, precision fermentation and new approaches in bioreactor technology to drive forward the cultivated meat, food production and personal care industries. By providing pioneering technology, it enriches the alternative protein and agritech industries and enables other companies to produce alternative proteins at an industrial scale.
In collaboration with Ontario Genomics, a non-profit organization leading the application of genomics-based solutions to drive economic growth, improved quality of life and global leadership for Ontario, some 20,000 sq.-ft. area of the three-storey building will be dedicated to growing an innovation hub. It will provide smaller and mid-sized cellular agriculture and other biotech companies with access to laboratory space, bioreactors and, if needed, mentorship to test and scale up their products.
Noori said this would enable access to the necessary and expensive infrastructure that will help shape the landscape of the cellular agriculture industry in Canada.
The facility will also house PreFer Industries, a subsidiary of The Cultivated B that focuses on the development of alternative, particularly plant-based protein sources through precision fermentation. PreFer Industries will keep the production of key plant-based resources within Canada and produce them with the desired proteins to optimize their use. This technology will transform a low-value resource, like grains, into something of high value, he explained.
Burlington’s prime location offers easy access to southwestern Ontario and the northwestern United States, Cassidy said, adding that 73 per cent of local residents have a post-secondary education, and there are 20 post-secondary institutions within a one-hour drive.
“As The Cultivated B prepares to hire 200 people over the next two years, this will offer the access they need to recruit researchers, engineers and other knowledge-based jobs,” she said. “It is companies like The Cultivated B that will drive Burlington into the future as a destination for innovation and talent.”
Formerly, L3 Harris produced sensor systems for defence, military, homeland security and law enforcement missions at the North Service Road location before relocating to a 330,000 sq.-ft. facility in Waterdown that opened in 2021.
