Northern Cables Fast-Paced Growth in Brockville & Prescott
In a world where many people think big brand names are better, it can be challenging to sell people on the merits of supporting local—but that’s just what the St. Lawrence Corridor Economic Development Commission and Northern Cables are doing: showing the world the resilience, power and possibilities found right here at home.
Both directly as an employer and indirectly as a hub of manufacturing that supports local development, Northern Cables has been an unwavering source of economic stability in the St. Lawrence Corridor for a quarter of a century.
Even during the COVID pandemic, when over an estimated 25,000 businesses closed in Ontario, Northern Cables—an essential business—remained open 24/7, with no lay-offs.
In fact, Northern Cables is almost always hiring people, with a starting salary of around $50,000 a year, benefits, a pension plan, and an enticing work schedule where employees only work 14 out of 28 days and every second weekend is a three-day weekend.
“The truth is manufacturing jobs are some of the best paying and most stable on the planet,” says Shelley Bacon, the CEO of Northern Cables and also a member of the SLCEDC. “We use cutting-edge technology and employ engineers, accountants, marketing specialists as well as production workers. And there’s always room to advance.”
Northern Cables and the SLCEDC
In fact, Northern Cables is upscaling right now and Bacon readily admits being a part of the SLCEDC has made this growth easier.
“The commission has given us an opportunity to connect with advisers and specialists that have helped as we grow—and we are growing, year after year,” he says, adding that as a member of the commission, it’s “fascinating to see the efforts that go on behind the scenes to raise business profiles to attract and retain the current industry.”
Nowadays, if a Canadian business wishes to compete in manufacturing, they would be wise to join a professional network such as the SLCEDC. With the right support, Northern Cables has not only survived, they are thriving. In just over two decades, Northern Cables increased their manufacturing square footage to 18 times their original footprint, and increased their workforce from 15 to 255: a 64% annual growth rate.
To grow to this size, and to compete with offshore suppliers (whose products are not as customized) Northern Cables has had to be strategic. Once connected with SLCEDC, Northern Cables was able to access specialized labour market intelligence, business consulting, and connections to local suppliers. All of this saved the company a great deal of time and intellectual capital, which meant higher and faster profit margins.
However, despite the steady growth rate, Bacon admits he’s worried about what the future will hold. Should the state of Michigan shut down the Line 9 Oil Pipeline, which fuels roughly half of Ontario and Quebec, his business would face devastating losses. “It could have a huge impact on our ability to remain in operation,” said Bacon. “We’re not a multinational with a head office in a far-away city. We live and breathe the business every day.”
Luckily, businesses such as Bacon’s are not alone in their fight to keep going amidst this tumultuous political climate. Advocacy and partnership-building with all levels of government are among the key benefits of working with us at the SLCEDC, a service that Bacon, among hundreds of other CEOs in Ontario, will find useful in the coming years.
More About Northern Cables
The origins of Northern Cables began with Phillips Cables, which moved to Brockville in 1922. Three quarters of a century later, in 1996, the company shuttered in the face of stiff off-shore competition. A small group of their operational staff didn’t want the dream to die. These seven former staffers met up in the town’s coffee shops for over a year, pouring over plans and briefs. In May of 1997, round-the-clock shifts commenced in the former Coca-Cola plant in Brockville.
Today Northern Cables has three separate manufacturing hubs in Brockville and Prescott, and is a leading national manufacturer of low-voltage power cables for oil, gas and mining industrial applications.
The skilled labour force employed by Northern Cables allows this company to design and create specialty cables with very little lead time. In addition to the production staff and the many departments in place to facilitate day-to-day operations, Northern Cables employs product design engineers, process engineers, and shipping logistics personnel.