Federal investment in two local companies, and provincial funding for a third, should create 70 new jobs in the region.
Sporting a lab coat on Monday morning, Federal Economic Development Agency Southern Ontario Minister Filomena Tassi announced a $375,000 loan for Cedar Valley Selections during a tour of the Oldcastle plant.
The money will help the family business expand and automate its operations, making pita chips and dressings.
"Being in the food and beverage industry, it's very, very cutthroat. There's a lot of fees everywhere you look. You're working on thin margins," said President and Founder Ameen Fadel. "When we first started off, we had a vision to be the biggest pita manufacturer in North America."
Fadel told those gathered for the announcement the funding would help his company achieve that dream by allowing it to hire five new employees.
Another $5-million is for Leamington steel fabricator, Unifab, which anticipates hiring another 50 workers.
Unifab President Abe Fehr on January 16, 2023.
"Roughly about three years ago, we started looking into developing a piece of automation called the pallet changer. It's for CNC machining centres if they want to try to increase their spindle uptime," said President Abe Fehr. "We're ready to go to market. We've actually sold one machine."
The Leamington plant is one of the largest metal fabricating shops in Ontario.
Meanwhile, Windsor-Tecumseh MPP Andrew Dowie helped announce a $570,427 investment from the Regional Development Program's Southwest Ontario Development Fund for Porter Engineered Systems.
That money will help Porter improve its facility and buy new equipment, including a bend saw, heat oven, and software. The company plans to design and build seating structures, mechanisms, and powertrain components. The venture should generate $3-million annually for the Windsor company.
Another $1.8-million invested by Porter will hire 15 new employees.
"Porter Engineered Systems' investment will grow local manufacturing and create more good-paying jobs in the Windsor-Essex region," said Dowie.