January 29, 2021 - Omemee, Ontario
Advanced manufacturing is a pillar of Canada's economy, producing goods for a variety of markets while supporting jobs for Canadians. As technology advances the manufacturing industry, southern Ontario companies are innovating and adopting new processes to stay on the cutting edge as they find ways to grow and recover in the wake of COVID-19.
New equipment to increase productivity
Today, the Honourable Maryam Monsef, Member of Parliament for Peterborough-Kawartha and Minister for Women and Gender Equality and Rural Economic Development, announced a FedDev Ontario repayable contribution of $1.13 million to support the scale-up of Bélair Mechatronics (operating as Kawartha Controls). The announcement was made on behalf of the Honourable Mélanie Joly, Minister of Economic Development and Official Languages and Minister responsible for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario (FedDev Ontario).
Kawartha Controls designs and manufactures hydraulic manifolds used in areas such as construction, farm equipment and power generation. With this funding, the company will set up a new machining cell and refine its innovative "smart factory," which is driven by artificial intelligence processes. This will increase production capacity by 300 percent to meet growing market demands and create six jobs in rural Omemee.
Investments like this highlight the Government of Canada's commitment to supporting rural businesses as they contribute to the recovery of the region's economy. Ontario's manufacturers have shown their resilience as they continue to find ways to grow and create good jobs, even in these challenging times.
Quotes
"Today's investment is great news for the Omemee community. Our Government is proud to support Kawartha Controls as it adopts new equipment, ramps up productivity and creates new jobs. By making investments that will help businesses in southern Ontario to scale up and access the capital needed for success, we are building for a resilient economic future."
- The Honourable Maryam Monsef, Member of Parliament for Peterborough-Kawartha and Minister for Women and Gender Equality and Rural Economic Development
"Since the onset of the global health crisis, our government has been here for the workers and businesses across Canada with support and relief measures. Today's announcement represents the kind of investment that will strengthen our manufacturers now by giving them the support they need to grow and stay resilient for the future-all while creating good, local jobs."
- The Honourable Mélanie Joly, Minister of Economic Development and Official Languages and Minister responsible for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario
"As we have been growing, we have been successful in creating high-value jobs for our local community. We have heavily invested in developing our "smart factory" and the demand for our product is 300 percent greater than we can currently produce. With support from FedDev Ontario, scaling our "smart-factory" will allow us to fill that demand and continue to create additional high-value advanced manufacturing jobs."
- Robert F. Bélair, Founder, Chief Technology and Executive Officer, Kawartha Controls
Quick facts
-
Kawartha Controls operates with a focus on environmental sustainability. It's "smart factory" processes significantly reduce the amount of greenhouse gas emissions created by their operations, compared to industry standards.
-
More than one in 10 of Ontario's jobs are in the manufacturing sector, recognized as Canada's manufacturing heartland.
-
Advanced manufacturing has contributed to a large share of job creation, accounting for half of the approximately 45,000 skilled jobs created in Ontario since 2010.
-
FedDev Ontario's repayable contribution to Kawartha Controls will leverage $2.1 million in additional investment.
-
Since November 2015, FedDev Ontario has invested more than $555.7 million in 322 manufacturing projects across southern Ontario.
