The US precision tube maker will hire about 100 workers at its first Canadian plant, which opens in Tilbury next summer.
The US precision tube maker will hire about 100 workers at its first Canadian plant, which opens in Tilbury next summer.
United Industries Inc. has not yet bought the former Woodbridge Foam building in Tilbury, which is planned to be used as a state-of-the-art stainless steel pipe plant, but the signing of a 30-year lease suggests the company is already here. for a long period.
On Tuesday, Beloit, Wisconsin officials told local media about their plans for the future.
“We are very pleased that everything worked out,” said company president Greg Sturitz, adding that the goal is to have it in production by mid-summer 2023.
United Industries is looking for about 100 employees ranging from plant operators to engineers, as well as quality specialists involved in packaging and shipping.
Sturicz said the company is exploring the possibility of developing wage rates that will compete with the market.
This is United Industries’ first investment north of the border, and the company is making a “major investment” that includes adding 20,000 square feet of warehouse space and installing new high-tech equipment.
While the company has Canadian customers across all industries, he said demand here has indeed peaked in the past few years as supply chains become tighter.
“This allows us to more easily access other parts of the global market, such as on the supply side, getting stainless steel from different sources, and also exports,” said Sturitz.
He noted that the company has good local suppliers in the US: “I think this opens up some doors for us in Canada that we don’t have, so there are some opportunities there that are very suitable for growth plans.”
The company originally wanted to expand in the Windsor area, but due to a tough real estate market, it expanded its target area and eventually found a site in Tilbury.
The 140,000-square-foot facility and location is attractive to the company, but it is in a small area.
Jim Hoyt, vice president of engineering and manufacturing, who led the site selection team, said the company didn’t know much about the area, so he asked Jamie Rainbird, Chatham-Kent’s economic development manager, for some information.
“He brought his colleagues together and we got a complete understanding of what it means to be a community, what the workforce and work ethic are,” Hoyt said. “We really like it because it complements our most successful organizations where population density is lower.”
Hoyt said people in more rural areas “know how to solve problems, they know how to solve problems, they tend to be mechanized.
Rainbird said it was clear from the beginning of his relationship with the company that “they want to be called the employer of choice.”
Sturicz said he has received numerous phone calls and emails, as well as contacts through the company’s website, since local media reported the story last week.
Hoyt said the business couldn’t afford much downtime, so he was looking for suppliers to contact and get an immediate response.
Operations will require calls to workshops for tool and die making, welding and sheet metal processing, and chemical supply and coolant and lubricant operations, he said.
“We intend to establish as many business relationships as close to the factory as possible,” Hoyt said. “We want to leave a positive footprint in the areas where we do business.”
Because United Industries doesn’t cater to the consumer market, Sturitz said, most people don’t realize how stainless steel tubing in general, especially the high-purity grades it produces, can affect their daily lives.
According to him, this product is indispensable in the production of microchips for cell phones, the food industry, the pharmaceutical industry, automobile exhaust systems, and even beer, beloved by many.
“We are going to be there for a long time and we will be servicing these products for a long time,” said Sturitz.
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