HyLife Founders Receive 2022 Manitoba Pork Industry Award

HyLife’s founders Don Janzen, Claude Vielfaure, and Denis Vielfaure were recognized with a Manitoba Pork Industry Award in the category of Industry Builder at this year’s Manitoba Pork AGM last week at the Fairmount Hotel in Winnipeg.

There was a lot of energy and buzz in downtown Winnipeg, marking the first-time leaders who were able to meet in person to celebrate and commemorate the industry since the days before COVID-19.

“It was a very special evening. Being recognized by our industry was very humbling. I’m very appreciative of the award and am very proud of how we have been able to give back to our communities. It was also very nice to see so many MLAs in the hall. Many who have made a positive impact on our industry and agriculture.”
– Claude Vielfaure, former President of HyLife.

The Veilfaure brothers and Don Janzen grew up farming, but their partnership started in 1994 when they combined forces to build Tritek Sow, a 2,000 head barn. In 1997, the barn was converted to house 6,000 hogs and became the largest in Canada. They added more barns in 2003, combining them under the name Hytek. In 2005, Hytek became HyLife.

HyLife’s passion for pork spread across the province and around the world. In 2008, HyLife became a fully integrated premium pork producer, purchasing a plant in Neepawa that staffed 350 people, processing 1,300 hogs a day. HyLife has grown to over 4500 employees across multiple countries, processing over 14,000 hogs a day.

A large contingent of HyLife employees attended the event, some of them working alongside the founders during the company’s early days.

“It was special to see so many people from HyLife cheering us on,” said Vielfaure. “We would not have been able to grow this company without them and all their employees in the company. We share this award with all our employees who all have had a huge impact on the company’s growth.”