Find out why the St. Lawrence Corridor is the best place for your business to grow.
Success Stories
Leclerc Foods to Bring Jobs & Economic Development to Brockville
The plant purchase will bring a conservative estimate of 100 new jobs to the region and an investment of 100 million dollars in the site over the next five years.
Leclerc Foods, the makers of the well-known Célébration cookies and more, recently announced their purchase of the Brockville’s former Procter & Gamble plant. This much-anticipated acquisition will bring waves of jobs, new partnerships, and economic development to the region.
In 2017, P&G announced the closing of their Brockville production plant, which was a significant hit to the region and its 480 employees. It became a top priority to find a new tenant for the prime production site, but the new owners were worth the wait: the St. Lawrence Corridor Economic Commission (SLCEDC) is thrilled with the purchase, and the fact that the site will be making delectable goodies? Just the cherry on top.
About Leclerc Foods
Leclerc Foods is a family-owned company that’s been in operation since 1905. The company, headquartered in Quebec, is much loved for their crackers, cookies, and bars, and is expanding rapidly throughout North America. The Brockville plant acquisition adds to their eight other manufacturing facilities across Canada and the US.
The company is in expansion-mode with many projects planned for their new location. Production is targeted to begin in July and ramp up to full capacity by January 2023. Leclerc is planning to start production of granola bars in their first line at the new Brockville plant, strategically anticipating the higher demand for on-the-go snacks as the pandemic restrictions ease and routines start to go back to normal.
After that, Leclerc has a three-year plan to set up line after line in the plant, based on what will be most in demand. The company has training plans ready to go and will be looking to hire full-time, specialized workers in the near future, bringing many jobs to the area.
Influx of Jobs
In fact, the plant purchase will bring a conservative estimate of 100 new jobs to the region, although the company’s president, Denis Leclerc, believes it will be even more. Leclerc will also invest over 100 million dollars in the site over the next five years, bolstered by a 1.5 million dollar of support from the Eastern Ontario Development Fund and the Government of Ontario.
“We have developed an excellent business relationship with the St. Lawrence Corridor Economic Development Commission and we are proud to benefit from their competence and expertise,” said Denis Leclerc, President of Leclerc Foods.
“We are confident that this partnership will continue to be an asset that will facilitate our arrival in Brockville and ensure the success of our project.”
Learn more about the Leclerc-Brockville deal here.
Businesses Supporting Businesses
But jobs aren’t all that the acquisition brings. Leclerc’s arrival in the area is good news for other businesses, including the nearby Burnbrae Farms, who will be Leclerc’s egg supplier. The boost to the local economy is a welcome relief after the back-to-back hits of the P&G plant closure and the pandemic.
SLCEDC’s Support
The acquisition was highly anticipated, but was hard won. It took a village, and the SLCEDC played a significant part. By laying the groundwork for the purchase and gathering local support, the SLCEDC was able to position the plant as the clear choice for a company of Leclerc’s size and renown. The economic and employment boost to the region is a testament to the work that the SLCEDC is doing and the result of strong regional partnerships.
“As a founding member of the St. Lawrence Corridor Economic Development Commission and as someone who worked with our team on this exciting project, I am thrilled to welcome Leclerc to our communities,” says Prescott mayor and SLCEDC board member Brett Todd. “Being able to attract such an iconic, family-owned Canadian company shows the importance of working jointly. We succeed when we work together.”
The region looks forward to welcoming Leclerc and supporting its growth over the coming years.
HFI Pyrotechnics Aggressive Growth in Prescott
Female COO Leading Aggressive Growth Strategy For Ontario’s HFI Pyrotechnics
Keeping business’ doors open during the pandemic has been challenging, to say the least. Ontario’s HFI Pyrotechnics has not only been surviving but thriving this last year and a half. In fact, they’ve doubled growth over the last year, in terms of both revenue and headcount, and are on track to grow another 50% over the next year.
Leading the charge in this unprecedented growth is female Chief Operating Officer, Rhiannon Iles. Female COOs are hard to come by. In fact, only 9% of C-suite executives at Canada’s largest publicly traded corporations are women, despite the fact that companies with more gender diversity perform better. In that respect, HFI is making waves with a 70% female staff.
Iles was brought on in October 2020 to drive HFI’s aggressive growth strategy, which centres around finding new customers and growing their product base. The newly created role is designed to lead the management team and HFI’s strategic growth as a supplier of military training as well as pyrotechnic devices for search and rescue.
A large part of HFI’s groundbreaking growth is due to their new contract with the Munitions Supply Program for the Canadian government, the first new addition to the program in almost 40 years. This win highlights the importance of Canadian-made products to protect and serve the Canadian military.
HFI is proud of this historic contract; it brings much-needed, stable employment to rural Ontario while recognizing HFI’s critical contribution to the country’s armed forces.
Strength in Numbers
HFI’s unparalleled growth is also reflected in their employee numbers. In fact, they’ve doubled their headcount over the last year, which is incredibly welcome in rural Ontario during the pandemic. Hiring and retaining employees is easy when the company’s internal mantra is “together stronger” and they refer to themselves as the HFI family. They count all employees as part of their success, and rightly so.
“I am so proud of the recent growth of our business and capabilities, all thanks to our leadership and all employees adopting our “Together Stronger” culture,” says Iles. “It is because of them I am confident and excited about our future.”
Focusing on the Future
So, what’s next for HFI? Research and development is a top priority to grow the product base. In this vein, they’ve hired two new engineers and are invested in hiring the right talent to bring HFI to new heights. Tweaking existing products and new products to be more environmentally friendly and reduce their carbon footprint is also a priority.
HFI is also actively seeking new contracts in the coming year, while working to forge new connections both regionally and around the world.
One thing that’s not going to change: HFI’s driving mission to provide trusted, sustainable military training and search & rescue products that save lives.
HFI Pyrotechnics and the SLCEDC
As a member of the St. Lawrence Corridor Economic Development Commission, HFI Pyrotechnics is an inspiration to local businesses looking to grow and drive business to the region.
“At HFI Inc., we are looking forward to a closer partnership with the St. Lawrence Corridor Economic Commission as part of our growth strategy and to further network with other businesses in our region,” says Iles.
With the help of the SLCEDC and the relentless drive of the HFI team, the upward trajectory of this 148-year-old company is inevitable and they’re not slowing down anytime soon.
With land set aside to expand and a product base that just keeps growing and diversifying, HFI Pyrotechnics is bringing attention to the St. Lawrence Corridor and making a name for Canada in the manufacturing space.
Weatherhaven in Brockville Helps Fight Covid With MHUs
Weatherhaven has been helping governments and companies with shelters and temporary hospital solutions in some of the most remote and logistically challenging areas of the world for four decades. Their newest partnership with the Government of Canada is a testament to Weatherhaven’s reputation as the leading provider of portable shelters and medical facilities.
This partnership is the latest in ongoing efforts to battle the COVID-19 pandemic. Weatherhaven helped the government deploy two mobile health units (MHUs) in the hardest hit regions of Ontario to relieve overcrowded and strained hospitals, while helping the province provide more resources where they were needed most.
State-of-the-Art Solutions for Enhanced Health Care
The state-of-the-art units were tested in Brockville in December 2020 and then quickly deployed in the Greater Toronto Area, where COVID-19 cases surged. Each MHU was able to provide up to 100 additional beds, in addition to medical supplies, equipment, and washroom facilities. The self-contained units were supported by large generators for power and once erected, were each about the size of a football field. The MHUs function as a normal hospital, with the same services and equipment, and they were designed, built and equipped by Weatherhaven in partnership with ATCO Ltd.
The MHUs were designed to help move non-critical care patients out of the ICU to free up those resources for those who truly needed it. Intensive care units were more than overburdened: in fact, from January 2020 to March 2021, more than 1 in 5 hospital stays involved an admission to the ICU. The province provided the staff for the MHUs in order to relieve the strain on local front-line workers. At a point in the pandemic where ICU beds were almost completely filled by COVID-19 cases, these MHUs could not have come at a better time.
The MHUs were planned to be in use until the beginning of May depending on the COVID-19 case situation, but were extended for two additional months to continue to fight a surge in cases.
The SLCEDC and Weatherhaven
The ability for the province to temporarily increase hospital capacity in hot spots was critical to the success of fighting the pandemic, and it could not have been done without Weatherhaven’s rapid response and expertise. This partnership was an immediate and much needed success, and the SLCEDC was there to support Weatherhaven in this venture and many others:
“We have helped Weatherhaven with government advocacy work,” says Charles Mignault , SLCEDC Commissioner. “We’ve supported their sourcing of supply chain partners across eastern Ontario and have helped them with workforce challenges – identifying labour market data, local wage rates and recruitment support to help them expand their operations.”
Weatherhaven Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow
Founded in 1981, Weatherhaven started out helping mining and expedition industries with shelter in hard-to-reach locations. The Canadian owned and operated company has since grown tremendously, working with commercial, medical, and military agencies to provide complex custom solutions.
Fighting COVID-19 among a surge in cases and overcrowded hospitals meant thinking outside the box and finding ways to get the province the support it desperately needed. Weatherhaven was there to support the government and provide invaluable resources and expert knowledge at a critical point in the pandemic.
Weatherhaven’s ongoing support to the Government of Canada’s Mobile Health Unit Initiative involves designing, storing, transporting and launching mobile health units where they’re needed, whether it’s an urban or remote setting and in any climate needed. These MHUs can be deployed in a number of days for an unparalleled rapid response that the government can use wherever and whenever it’s needed in Canada.
Weatherhaven to date has provided medical facilities that are in use in over 17 countries worldwide to help fight COVID-19. Construction on site can be completed in as little as three days, making these health care facilities a significant asset and tool in battling the pandemic.
Learn more about Weatherhaven and their groundbreaking COVID-19 field hospitals here.
More About the SLCEDC
The St. Lawrence Corridor Economic Commission (SLCEDC) is focused on the attraction of new industrial and commercial employers to the region, increasing the quantity and quality of job opportunities for our residents along with assisting our existing business to expand. Working collaboratively with partners to help them reach their expansion and retention goals, the SLCEDC bases its success on performance and principles.
3M Canada’s Brockville Plant Helps The Fight Against Covid-19
In the first week of April 2021, 3M Canada achieved something incredible. After months of planning, around the clock shifts, and a massive construction project to retool their production line, 3M’s Brockville, Ontario plant shipped out their first order of N95 respirator masks. It took only 8 months to go from manufacturing zero N95 masks to shipping out their first order of 700,000.
We don’t have to tell you how this changed—and potentially saved—the lives of thousands of people.
N95 respirators are not your typical disposable face masks, because 3M is not your typical company. They call themselves a “science company,” and they certainly deserve the title. 3M manufactures over 55,000 products globally, and each and every one was developed on one of their 46 technology platforms or laboratories.
Sanitation Science is the Future
The 3M™ N95 Particulate Healthcare Respirator provides respiratory protection against airborne biological particles, and they are fluid-resistant to splash and spatter of infectious substances such as saliva. As more and more research was published in 2020 about the rate of airborne and contact transmission of Covid-19, it became imperative for healthcare workers to secure Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) created by a company who bases their productive output on scientific principles.
This first order of 700,000 N95 masks was one small step towards the 55 million annually that the plant committed to making. This output is part of a global strategy for the company. By the end of 2020, 3M produced 2 billion N95 respirators worldwide, which was triple their 2019 production: the company’s goal for 2021 is to produce 2.5 billion.
3M Canada could not have accomplished this feat without partnering with various levels of government. The Ministry of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade, the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing, Ontario’s Ministry of Government and Consumer Services, Canada’s Ministry of Innovation, Science and Industry, and Canada’s Ministry of Public Services and Procurement joined forces to make this happen. Each level of government invested $23.33 million to support 3M’s capital investment of $70 million. The agreement was reached in August 2020. Construction at the plant began in September, and was completed by May, 2021.
The project created 30 new jobs for “3Mers” (as the company calls their employees) in Brockville, including production operators, maintenance technicians, process engineers, supervisors and quality assurance professionals.
The fact that N95 masks are now made in Canada is not a minor footnote in our country’s fight against Covid-19. Waiting for shipments from other nations has become a life-or-death situation, especially for frontline workers, as we’ve seen with vaccine supply.
“By securing domestically-manufactured products, Canada increases its self-sufficiency and reduces the risk of supply chain interruptions, which have been prevalent during the global pandemic,” says Penny Wise, President of 3M Canada.
However, regional vs. out-of-country production is not the only factor affecting supply of PPE in Canada: price gouging and outright fraud have also been an issue. As Wise reported in April 2020, 3M filed a legal action in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice. The defendants falsely affiliated themselves with 3M and sold N95 respirators for $17.00 each, which is more than five times the appropriate retail price. Still to this day, 3M is working with online retailers and tech giants such as Google, Amazon, and Facebook to identify and remove counterfeiters from their sites and report them to law enforcement authorities.
The 3M legal team has investigated more than 9,900 reports globally of suspected fraud, counterfeiting, and price gouging which has led to the removal of tens of thousands of illicit listings. The company has committed to donating any damages recovered from legal proceedings to COVID-19-related non-profit organizations.
As Wise asserts, “To fight this pandemic, we must have a united front and we encourage the entire distribution ecosystem to follow suit.”
It’s an essential and important mission, and one that the SLCEDC looks forward to helping 3M achieve, both throughout the pandemic and beyond.
Learn more about 3M here.
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.