Chapman's facts for kids
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| Private | |
| Industry | Manufacturing |
| Founded | 1973 |
| Headquarters | Markdale, Ontario, Canada 100 Chapman's Crescent N0C 1H0 |
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Area served
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Canada |
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Key people
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Penny Chapman and David Chapman (founders) |
| Products | Ice cream Frozen yogurt |
Chapman's is a Canadian company that makes delicious ice cream. It is the largest independent company making ice cream and frozen treats in all of Canada. Chapman's creates products under its own well-known brand name. They also make products for other stores to sell under their own labels. The company is famous for offering many kinds of ice cream for people with special dietary needs, like those who can't have nuts or dairy. You can find Chapman's products in stores across Canada.
The company was started by David and Penny Chapman in 1973. Today, their son, Ashley Chapman, helps run the family business.
Contents
History of Chapman's
How It All Started
In 1973, David and Penny Chapman bought a small creamery. This was in Markdale, Ontario, a village located just south of Georgian Bay. When they first started, Chapman's was a small company. It had only four employees and two trucks to deliver its products.
Growing Across Canada
As the company grew, Chapman's opened a new distribution center in New Brunswick in 2001. This helped them deliver their ice cream more easily to customers in Eastern Canada.
The Big Fire and Rebuilding
On September 4, 2009, a large fire badly damaged the Chapman's creamery. Luckily, no employees were hurt during the blaze. After the fire, Chapman's used a smaller building to keep making ice cream.
Exactly one year later, on September 4, 2010, they opened a brand-new facility. This new plant was much bigger than the old one. The smaller building they had been using was then turned into a special plant just for products with nuts. The new, larger plant was made completely nut-free. This expansion allowed Chapman's to hire many new employees, adding 50 to 100 more jobs.
Helping During the Pandemic
During the COVID-19 pandemic, special vaccines needed to be kept very cold. Chapman's offered to help by letting the local health unit use their huge industrial freezers. These freezers were perfect for storing the vaccine vials safely.
Later, Chapman's decided that employees who were not vaccinated needed to take a special test twice a week. The company paid for these tests. Employees who were vaccinated received a small raise. Some groups disagreed with this policy and asked people to stop buying Chapman's products. However, many people across Canada showed their support for the company. Ashley Chapman, the company's vice-president, said that the calls for a boycott did not affect their sales.
Dealing with Trade Changes
When new trade rules were announced, Chapman's had to make some changes. They decided to find ingredients from other countries, like Italy, instead of relying on ingredients from the United States. Chapman's also chose to cover the extra costs from these new trade rules themselves. This helped keep their product prices stable for customers.
Chapman's Facilities
Chapman's main production is in Markdale, Ontario. They have two plants in the town. The smaller plant is about 65,000 square feet (6,000 m2) and handles products that contain nuts. The larger plant is about 150,000 square feet (14,000 m2) and is completely nut-free.
The company also has a large distribution center south of Markdale. This center is about 140,000 sq ft (13,000 m2). Another distribution center is in Hampton, New Brunswick. This one helps serve the Atlantic provinces. Chapman's even owns its own special water treatment plant. This plant cleans about 675,000 litres (178,000 US gal) of wastewater every day. This water comes from cleaning and making their ice cream products.
