A major announcement for the Portage la Prairie area was made Wednesday morning at the JR Simplot plant, just west of the city.

The company is investing $460,000,000 to expand the facility and double production.

Premier Brian Pallister says he's tremendously pleased people are investing in the province.

"Obviously, growing up in this area of the province, of course I'm excited for this area," he says, "We have seen some hardships here. We lost a number of major employers a number of years ago, and so seeing the province on the way back up, and my home community, and the central part of the province come back, is really satisfying."

RM of Portage Reeve Kam Blight says a lot of effort went into this and is enthused to have Simplot decide to expand here.

"And we're just starting to wrap our heads around what it's really going to mean for our joint community, and the province of Manitoba. It's just nice to have a company such as Simplot recognize the value of our municipalities."

Portage Mayor Irvine Ferris is impressed with the enthusiasm of the people who were at the announcement.

"It says to me that we've got some very, very good partners," he says, "First of all, I think people know that we've had a long-term partnership with the RM of Portage, and of course, we also have a partnership with the province. We could not have done this without our partnerships."

Simplot President and CEO Bill Whittaker stresses a commitment like this is generational, and the large number of people at the announcement is a positive sign.

"What's particularly interesting to me is to feel the energy in the room for this project," he says, "And know that we're wanted, and everybody does what they say they're going to do."

Simplot Vice-president of Manufacturing and Supply Chain Michael Johnston agrees, and feels it shows they made the right decision.

"And it's that kind of support, both from the government, and locally," he says, "And also from our employees, that really helped make this a relatively easy decision."

Portage la Prairie MLA Ian Wishart is pleased, calling it a shot in the arm for the region.

"We've always known in the community, we had the land and water assets that were very unique in Canada," he says, "And I don't think many people appreciated what we had in terms of a world perspective."

Provincial Agriculture Minister Ralph Eichler believes this announcement sets the stage for Manitoba to be the country's most improved province.

"Having said that, it comes with some challenges, too," he says, "Growth has to be sustainable, it has to be able to be responsive to the needs of our producers. So we have more work to do, but we're pleased to have that challenge."

Roughly 87 new jobs will be created once the expansion's complete in the fall of 2019.