Sep 30, 2005 9:25 AM, from staff and wire reports

Saputo Inc has announced the closing of its cheese and cheese by-product manufacturing plant in Whitehall PA. The plant will first halt production of cheese Oct 29, 2005, and then will end by-product production by March 2006. All activities of the Whitehall plant will be integrated into other Saputo facilities.

In all, 115 employees will be affected, 85 of whom will cease work Oct 29, 2005. Some employees will be allowed to transfer to other company plants. After tax, costs connected with the closure will be about US $1.6 million, and Saputo expects annual after-tax savings of about US $3 million.

This decision stems from a continuous analysis of the company’s activities and the implementation of measures aimed at improving operational efficiency.