Chapman's is a Canadian manufacturer of

ice cream Ice cream is a frozen dessert typically made from milk or cream that has been flavoured with a sweetener, either sugar or an alternative, and a spice, such as Chocolate, cocoa or vanilla, or with fruit, such as strawberries or peaches. Food ...

. It is the largest independent ice cream and ice water manufacturer in Canada. Chapman's produces products under the company brand name, as well as store brand products. They are also known for their range of ice creams for people with special dietary needs. Chapman's products are distributed nationally. The company was founded by David and Penny Chapman in 1973. Their son, Ashley, currently runs the business.

History

In 1973, David and Penny Chapman purchased the Creamery in Markdale, Ontario, a village just south of

Georgian Bay The Georgian Bay () is a large bay of Lake Huron, in the Laurentia bioregion. It is located entirely within the borders of Ontario, Canada. The main body of the bay lies east of the Bruce Peninsula and Manitoulin Island. To its northwest is t ...

. The company started out as a small creamery with four employees and two trucks. In 2001, a distribution centre was opened in New Brunswick to better serve Chapman's Atlantic Canada. On September 4, 2009, a major fire gutted the Chapman's creamery. No employees were hurt in the blaze. Chapman's had been using a smaller plant since the fire. On September 4, 2010 they opened its new facility on the anniversary of the destruction of the old plant. The smaller plant was converted into a nut facility, while the addition of the new plant became a nut-free facility (the larger of the two plants is about quadruple the size of the old one) allowed the hiring of 50 to 100 new employees. During the

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, when the

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and

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s were being readied for distribution, which require strong refrigeration for storage, Chapman's volunteered the use of their industrial freezers for the Grey Bruce Health Unit for the vials. When the company decided upon a

vaccine mandate A vaccination policy is a health policy adopted in order to prevent the spread of infectious disease. These policies are generally put into place by state or local governments, but may also be set by private facilities, such as workplaces or sc ...

where any unvaccinated employees must submit to a company paid

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twice a week, while their vaccinated employees would get a $1 raise as the equivalent compensation for the cost of the tests, the company was subject to calls for a boycott by

anti-vaccination Anti-vaccine activism, which collectively constitutes the "anti-vax" movement, is a set of organized activities expressing opposition to vaccination, and these collaborating networks have often sought to increase vaccine hesitancy by dissem ...

groups. However, there was also a wave of public support around Canada for the business in reaction to this hostility, although it was not clear how the activism of either side was affecting sales. Company vice-president Ashley Chapman said on CBC Radio's ''

As It Happens ''As It Happens'' is a Canadian interview show that airs on CBC Radio One in Canada and various public radio stations in the United States through Public Radio Exchange. Its 50th anniversary was celebrated on-air on November 16, 2018. It has be ...

'' that the boycott had no effect on the company's bottom line. After U.S. president

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...

announced 25 percent tariffs on all goods imported from Canada, Chapman's announced they would source ingredients that previously came from the United States from other coutries, such as Italy. In addition, they began absorbing all immediate increases to the costs of the tariffs.

Facilities

Production is centred in Markdale, with two plants located in the town; the smaller plant is a nut facility, while the larger plant is nut-free. The company also operates a distribution centre south of town on Highway 10. There is another distribution centre in Hampton, New Brunswick to serve the Atlantic provinces. Chapman's owns a wastewater treatment plant to purify of wastewater daily produced from the cleaning and production processes.

References

External links

"The Story of Chapman's Ice Cream" at the official website
* ttps://esemag.com/archives/high-tech-wastewater-system-for-ice-cream-firm-4/ An article describing how their waste water is treatedbr>Tourist information and a brief company history Technical article describing their water treatment system
{Dead link, date=March 2023 , bot=InternetArchiveBot , fix-attempted=yes Food and drink companies established in 1973 Food and drink companies of Canada Ice cream brands 1973 establishments in Ontario Dairy products companies of Canada