Mediplan Health, the largest mail order pharmaceutical operation based in Canada, which in three years has blossomed to become the biggest employer in Minnedosa, is planning a major expansion. This coming spring, it will open a 15,000 square-foot plant in Niverville to help it cope with growing demands for services. A press conference was called for 10:00 a.m., Monday, February 03 at Niverville Council Chambers to lay out details of the co-operation between the town and company that makes the expansion possible in Niverville. The move is regarded by the Town, the Province and the industry as an enormous vote of confidence in a field that has drawn controversial attention, including recent threats from giant pharmaceutical corporations. “I want to stress three things,” Mediplan’s Development Director, Chantelle Rzepka, said today. “First, our confidence in Niverville and the Province of Manitoba; second, the strong ties we continue to forge with Minnedosa; and, third, our faith in the future growth and well being of our enterprise.” Stats Canada described Niverville after the last census as the “fastest growing urban community in Manitoba.” The town is about 30 kilometers south of Winnipeg and has a population of about 2,200. Mediplan’s confidence in its future arises from what it sees as the very positive support the mail order pharmacists have received from the Province of Manitoba. Mediplan’s business fills a genuine, humanitarian niche. It ameliorates the distress of those hard-pressed to meet essential pharmaceutical needs, Mrs. Rzepka said. “It was Niverville’s strong municipal report that made it our choice for a location.

That and the fact it is one of the most enterprise-sensitive rural communities in the province. It also fitted perfectly with Mediplan’s rural roots and Manitoba’s policy of encouraging rural economic diversification,” she said. Mrs. Rzepka said the company opted to create this new plant beyond Minnedosa because it felt it had drawn fully on the naturally available supply of labor in its home town. “We love our town here and its people and this will always be our headquarters base – our people all understand that – but good sense required that we look elsewhere. We signaled intention about six months ago.” “We chose Niverville because it has many of the qualities that endear us to Minnedosa. It is a thriving, lovely town. It has a labor base with a wonderful work ethic. And it has a very forward-thinking Town Council.” Initially, Mediplan expects to have a staff of about 50-100 employees in the opening months of its million-dollar operation in Niverville.

Mayor Gordon Daman said he and his four-member council saw Mediplan as an excellent opportunity to grow the industrial base of Niverville. “We were delighted with the company’s young principals, their drive and enterprise. We liked the way they do things. We like their confidence in the face of big-business adversity. And we are very encouraged by the confidence expressed by the provincial government and its industry minister, The Hon. Mary Ann Mihychuk, that this type of enterprise is in Manitoba to stay. “The government is clearly looking at businesses such as Mediplan as being the backbone of growth in communities like ours. And we relish the partnership,” Mr. Daman said.