'Recession-proof jobs': Mayor says Dr. Oetker put the city on the path to attracting critical partnerships

Corporate leaders from Canada and Germany gathered with local dignitaries at Dr. Oetker's London operation on Nova Court to mark the plant's 10-year anniversary.

In August 2011, there was another gathering — this one was on the steps of London City Hall as they announced that Dr. Oetker had selected London as the home of its new frozen pizza processing plant, serving a growing Canadian market.

It opened its doors in the fall of 2014 and now employees more than 430 people.

Up to that point, Dr. Oetker had been shipping the pizzas from European facilities to Canada and the United States since the 1960s.

There was no shortage of suitors in the U.S. and Canada, hoping to land the company's first North American production plant, but the company found its fit in London.

"The big thing about London is, we were working here with a very professional city," Executive Board Member Dr. Christian von Twickel told CTV News.

He added, "You see what's possible all around. We have some colleges here, universities. We have good people here. People who are willing to get engaged with the business, learn, have some training. So, if it fit together from that point of view and then we have all the raw materials for sourcing."

Von Twickel came from Germany to operate the plant during its formative years. He says there was an obvious benefit that comes from being in an agricultural zone that produces everything needed for the Dr. Oetker pizzas: including wheat from Ontario and Alberta, tomato sauce from Leamington, and cheese from Ontario and Quebec. "We use about 24 metric tonnes of cheese per day. I can tell you, that's a lot," he said with smile to those gathered.

Mayor Josh Morgan says the Dr. Oetker facility was the first in a series of agrifood businesses that would come to call London home.

Giving out slices at the Dr. Oetker 10th anniversary celebration on Sept. 12, 2024. (Gerry Dewan/CTV News London)The latest is the Andriani pasta plant currently under construction directly across from the Dr. Oetker facility in an industrial land complex called Innovation Park.

In the early 2000s the city committed to an industrial land strategy that would see it buy property, service it and prepare it for prospective businesses.

Morgan said agrifood businesses were a natural fit, "With all of the agricultural land around us, you know, it only makes sense to locate agrifood manufacturing/processing here. And that's why London has become this powerhouse recognized across North America."

Morgan said the city will see ongoing benefits from the agrifood industry, "These are recession-proof jobs. These are the types of products that people do not really change their spending habits when the economy goes up and down. So, when we get these jobs in our city and in our region, you know, these are the things that withstand the ups and downs of the economy and really creates a very stable economic environment within our city."

Agriculture Minister and Elgin Middlesex London MPP Rob Flack also attended the tenth anniversary event.

He stressed that the importance of the agriculture industry in Ontario cannot be overstated, "We have $51 billion of GDP (gross domestic product) in the agrifood sector. From the farm gate to the consumers plate, 871,000 people across s this province are employed in the food and beverage and agrifood industry, more than the auto industry."

Flack says the agrifood businesses have the opportunity for even more growth. Gesturing to the Dr. Oetker plant he said, "This plant here now exports their products to Australia and the United States, a very important part of our local economy and our provincial agrifood system."

Von Twickel noted that Dr. Oetker has filled an important need, with more and more people looking for convenient, healthy food options, "We start with the consumer. We talk about the consumer. We find out what is relevant for her or for him to have in their individual way of life. So convenience is a very important topic. A balanced product is a very important topic that that helps us to grow, to grow here, to grow worldwide.”