Avon Valley Greenhouse Ltd. to Expand

Forty to 60 new jobs will be created for the Annapolis Valley area as a result of a $1.2 million loan from the Nova Scotia Farm Loan Board to Avon Valley Greenhouses Ltd.

The loan is another sign of the province's commitment to supporting economic and employment growth in rural areas, Agriculture and Fisheries Minister Ernest Fage said at a news conference in Falmouth today.

"Avon Valley Greenhouses Ltd. has been in operation for over 65 years," said Mr. Fage. "Their continued success and growth potential is very exciting."

"This funding commitment will assist with the renovations of their dry-goods warehouse and construction of a 6,000-square-foot climate-controlled floral design and assembly facility," he said.

The Falmouth-based company, started in 1935, is the seventh largest greenhouse operation in Canada. It has 7.3 hectares of greenhouses in three sites -- Falmouth, Hants Co. and Woodville,
Kings Co.; and Sussex, N.B. The largest is in Falmouth, where four hectares are under production.

"Avon Valley Greenhouses Ltd. has had a positive impact on the local and provincial economies for many years." said Mr. Fage. "Another 40 to 60 jobs is great news."

Avon Valley Greenhouse is a leader in supplying floral products to the provincial, eastern Quebec and eastern U.S. markets. At certain times of the year the Avon Valley Floral Group, of which Avon Valley Greenhouses Ltd. is a part, employs more than 400 people.

Product lines include plant material, florist supplies, flowers for resale, potted plants, foliage plants and value-added products such as bouquets and arrangements.