With the help of provincial funding, Blenheim’s Cross Country Manufacturing is set to expand, big time.
The company, based in Manitoba, opened up in Blenheim in February of 2013, bringing its bulk haulage and aggregate trailer construction to Solway Drive in Blenheim.
It is now adding 100 new jobs, expanding to 123, with the assistance of $550,000 from the Southwestern Ontario Development Fund (SWODF).
According to provincial officials, the funding will help increase quality and efficiency with the introduction of new, innovative projects to increase productivity. The project will help increase revenue annually, and increase export capacity by 70 per cent.
To Cross Country personnel, the funding is a shot in the arm.
“Ontario’s support is helping Cross Country Manufacturing to enter new markets in the U.S., introduce new products and grow our revenue. This expansion will increase our productivity, allowing us to create good jobs in the new and improved Blenheim facility,” Becky Froese, chief operating Officer for Cross Country, said in a release.
Brad Duguid, Minister of Economic Development and Growth, said the fund helps generate new jobs and improve the economy in Southwestern Ontario.
“Supporting advanced manufacturing in Ontario is one of the ways we are helping to build the province up. I am pleased to partner with Cross Country Manufacturing to help them create jobs and develop a strong economy in Southwestern Ontario,” he said in a media release.
Cross Country is housed in a 120,000-square-foot building that was vacant for a half a decade. It last housed Inergy Automotive.
Provincial personnel say the project has a total value of more than $5.5 million and is expected to be completed in summer 2017.
According to provincial officials, since 2013, the SWODF and Eastern Ontario Development Fund have helped to create and retain more than 32,100 jobs and attracted approximately $1.58 billion in investment. The funds cover up to 15 per cent of eligible project costs, with the recipient company funding the remainder from its own resources.
The SWODF also supported a number of other local projects in recent years.
Aarkel Tool and Die in Wallaceburg is to receive more than $1 million on a contract signed in the 2015-16 fiscal year. In the same period, TekSavvy receives $360,000, and Waltron Trailers $110,000.
In the 2014-15 year, Dajcor Aluminum received $1.02 million and Autoliv Canada $530,000.
The province is accepting applications for the SWODF from qualified businesses that are growing and creating jobs, according to Ontario government officials. Sectors eligible for the fund include advanced manufacturing, food processing, life sciences, information and communications technology, tourism and cultural industries.
