HyLife's vision is to be the best food company in the world. We’ve grown to be one of North America’s leading producers of premium pork. Our fully integrated operations model sets us apart, allowing us to consistently create excellent products that are enjoyed around the globe.
We’re all-in on pork. Everything we do supports our mission to take care of our employees, communities, animals, and customers.
Our core values are a guiding light used to navigate decisions, attitudes, and company culture. We demonstrate these root beliefs every day - they stand for who we are, what we do, and how we do it.
Who is HyLife? It’s not the brick and mortar, it’s not the feed mills, and barns, it’s our people. Every individual working at HyLife is a part of a community somewhere, and that’s really who HyLife is. We are really fortunate and blessed that our people are actively engaged within their communities, and that they do so with such positive energy.
Our actions dictate who we are and how people view us. We can say who or what we want to be, but you have to live it. People see your actions, and that speaks loudly. When you say something, you do it, and when we lead this way, we build trust in our customers, we build trust in our communities, and we build trust with our employees.
We’ve always ensured that our people are empowered to know that they make decisions; that they are allowed to own their roles and their teams and drive forward. We want to be trusted, so we trust each other. That’s what has allowed HyLife to consistently grow, and it was critical throughout our transition to becoming a fully integrated food company.
When we say we’ll do something, it becomes our commitment to overcome barriers and deliver. Simply put, we always rally each other to Get ’er Done.
We listen to our people. There are no barriers to sharing your ideas and being heard. We make ourselves available so we can improve and be better. Sometimes being wrong is a good thing, and we want to discover new ideas from everyone.
We have extremely high standards when it comes to respecting our animals. Our employees come from diverse backgrounds, and while everyone understands the importance of treating animals with respect, we ensure we provide them with the knowledge and the tools needed to make their care our highest priority.
When you’re working in a team or somebody’s speaking with you, you want them to come forward with ideas. They might not always be great ideas, but the important part is respecting the individual and understanding where they are coming from. It’s not only leadership, or only certain positions – it’s everybody throughout the organization. This leads to the behavior founded in trust. That’s really powerful within our organization, because we have many great people who have great thoughts. Empowering them to share them in an environment that they feel safe goes a long way.
While becoming the best food company in the world is a lofty vision, it also speaks to what people’s ambitions are. We’re asking you to do your best, and that – it’s an attitude. It’s a way of thinking, it’s a way of performing every day. No matter your role with HyLife, if everybody on the team is striving for the best in what they do, we’re going to be a great company and that’s what makes our vision become possible.
Without profitability, we couldn’t do the things we do in our communities or with our employees. We believe running a successful business should never come at the expense of our environment. At HyLife, we think long-term and with corporate responsibility at the heart of our business decisions.
When HyLife started, we had just a few small barns. There’s a special kind of teamwork within a barn, right? Well, as we continued to grow as a company that value followed us to every new team, and now, you see it everywhere. With our fully integrated operations system, it became really important to continue this between every team – we all help each other be the best. When new employees join HyLife, they’ve said from the outside looking in that they knew there was something different. And once they’re here, they actually see what that difference is – a camaraderie where anybody feels comfortable and supported.
We have a challenging business, and what makes it fun is when you go through challenging times, whatever those times could be, there is also an opportunity. There’s always something we can do that’s going to make us stronger, more agile, or help our employees do their job easier. You have to be open minded when you look at challenges, because opportunity is always there.
When you’re seeing your coworkers or whoever you’re working with, make it enjoyable – for them and for you. There’s a long-standing farm connection for all of us that when you work hard, things will benefit you. We focus on working hard to stay prepared and to find an advantage, and we focus on playing hard so that we can stay balanced and enjoy our time together.
We want to work alongside good people, and it’s our obligation to keep them safe. Safety at HyLife is a given for everyone – people will feel happy and will feel passionate and will be able to perform if they feel taken care of in a safe work environment.
With full control over our operations – which include feed production, raising animals, transportation, and processing – we provide the traceability and product quality needed to provide our customers with the exceptional eating experience they seek. We produce 3.6 million hogs per year and process 3.8 million at specialized pork plants in Manitoba.
Our Management Team fosters an environment where HyLife’s vision, mission, and values lie at the core of every decision made. We recognize our people are our greatest strength, and our leaders seek to empower employees at all levels in the organization to live up to their fullest potential.
President & Chief Executive Officer
Chief Operating Officer
Chief Financial Officer
Chief Supply Chain Officer
Chief Business Development Officer, Asia
Senior Vice President, Farm Division
Vice President, Infrastructure & Environmental Affairs
Vice President, Finance & Risk
Vice President, Business Administration (CP Foods)
Three Vielfaure brothers (Paul, Denis, and Claude) purchase their first 250 sow farm from their father, Albert Vielfaure, in La Broquerie, Manitoba. Don Janzen starts pig farming in Randolph, Manitoba four years later.
The Vielfaure brothers and Don Janzen join to create VL4/Janzen, a company focused on creating the most efficient and integrated operating structure to produce hogs. Construction of their first sow farm, Tritek, takes place.
VL4/Janzen starts selling wean and feeder pigs in the United States. Construction of the first Boar Genetic Transfer Centre takes place in La Broquerie.
The first finishing barn in Manitoba is built and the VL4/Janzen feed mill is expanded.
VL4/Janzen purchases a genetic company from Harold and Marjie Fast called Fast Genetics in Spiritwood, Saskatchewan. This triggered construction of multiplication barns in Canada and the United States in the coming years.
The company is renamed to Hytek, focusing on efficient hog and meat production.
Hytek gets into transportation by purchasing trucks to haul grain, feed, livestock, and meat. This also includes construction of truck washes and bake bays.
A partnership develops between Hytek and Ceres Groupe to expand genetic and nutrition sales in Eastern Canada.
Hytek signs a joint venture agreement with Tianzow Food for the startup of a genetic company in China. The next year, the first shipment of Great Grand Parent stock (purebred genetics) is flown overseas to start the first nucleus herd in China.
Hytek purchases a meat processing plant named Springhill Farms in Neepawa, Manitoba – a large step towards becoming a fully integrated pork company selling pork products worldwide.
Hytek is rebranded and the company names changes to HyLife to better represent an integrated food company. The logo depicts the full cycle of farm-to-fork applications of wheat sheath, green fields, and blue skies.
HyLife stretches its reach by exporting into Japan, creating specialized pork products for the Japanese market.
HyLife achieves Platinum Status as one of Canada’s Best Managed Companies – a distinction still held today.
HyLife formulates a unique herb diet to create a new brand in Japan called Herb Sangenton.
Japanese trading company ITOCHU becomes a shareholder.
HyLife starts construction on a new 250,000 tonne feed mill in Randolph, Manitoba.
HyLife opens a new restaurant called HyLife Pork Table as part of a brand marketing strategy in the Daikanyama district in Tokyo, Japan.
HyLife completes Project 3750 which expands their fully integrated business model, including new barns, a new feed mill in Killarney, Manitoba, and a major expansion to the Neepawa pork plant.
Thai agriculture company CPF (Charoen Pokphand Foods Public Company Limited) becomes majority shareholder.
HyLife purchases ProVista’s hog farming operations, increasing its production capacity by approximately one million hogs annually.
HyLife donates $750,000 to local hospitals amid the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic.
HyLife completes improvements to Neepawa plant that sees daily production rise from 8,200 to 8,900 hogs.
HyLife relocates its Head Office to Steinbach, Manitoba following the construction of a new, 50,000 square foot facility.
Karan Sangfai becomes HyLife’s new President and CEO. Karan is a seasoned global leader who harbors a deep understanding of HyLife’s business and embodies company values.