Several new manufacturing jobs are coming to North Battleford after the announcement Tuesday afternoon that Grit Industries Inc. will be coming to North Battleford.
The business will be relocating its rapidly expanding manufacturing operations from Lloydminster to the former Peak Manufacturing location at 100 Canola Avenue. The facility also housed the former Winalta plant, which closed in 2008.
The announcement was made Tuesday afternoon before a large contingent of dignitaries including Mayor Ian Hamilton and Premier Brad Wall, who was in the city on his Saskatchewan tour.
City officials including Mayor Ian Hamilton and Director of Business Development Denis Lavertu, who served as MC at the press conference, were understandably excited about attracting Grit Industries to the Battlefords. Lavertu worked closely with Grit Industries to help them recruit potential employees to their new North Battleford operation during the National Job Fair in Toronto earlier this month.
Hamilton called it a "great day for the city of North Battleford," and says Grit Industries will "reinvigorate and reenergize the manufacturing industry in North Battleford."
He said the City had talked and collaborated with King to make the move a reality.
"This is a fantastic facility for manufacturing and processing. The fact that it was vacant at the time that Grit Industries, I understand, was looking to consolidate their operations, was just fortuitous.
"They could bring their operations together in terms of manufacturing," said Hamilton, instead of operating in four or five buildings of close proximity. He also praised King's commitment to developing a local work force.
He sees "nothing but growth" for the company and believes their new facility will be well able to handle further expansion and activity by Grit Industries in future years.
The president and founder of Grit Industries, Wayne King, said the move will mean 70 new jobs in North Battleford. These will include welders, gas fitters, assemblers, plasma and equipment operators, yard people, safety and quality control specialists, electricians, general labour and management.
The move will not happen immediately, but gradually over the next several months. The offer for the Canola Avenue location has been accepted, and Grit Industries' Lloydminster location has already been sold.
Grit Industries plans to run their operations concurrently over the next few months while the new Canola Avenue location is renovated and equipment moved in. King expects a December occupancy and expects the first units to roll off the assembly line sometime in 2012. The goal is to be operational by April, "an aggressive goal," according to King.
Once it is in full production the company expects to fully utilize the new 91,000 square foot location in North Battleford, which will be used for all aspects of Grit manufacturing and product assembly as well as for ongoing research efforts. Meanwhile, a new facility is also being built in Lloydminster where the company will continue to have its head office.
At the official announcement Tuesday, Premier Wall welcomed the Grit Industries Inc. expansion as more good news for the Saskatchewan economy.
"There's great things happening in the province of Saskatchewan", said Wall. "Provincially our economy is leading the country right now."
In his speech he credited the good economic times "to small business people in the province, to those who are investing and risking."
Wall credited King for "making the commitment and making a statement not just about North Battleford but about Saskatchewan."
"We thank you for this chance today to celebrate what's right about Saskatchewan and we look forward to moving this province forward together."
Grit Industries Inc. has been involved in the oil and gas industry since 1985. Originally it manufactured the equipment needed by Grithog Sand Control Systems, which had been operating a grit removal system, a whole-solution system to easily remove sludge from oil tanks.
King developed the first Grithog machine about three decades ago, billed as a revolutionary way to handle the sand and sludge that builds up in heavy oil tanks.
The company has gone on to manufacture Cold Weather technologies and A-Fire burner systems equipment, and has helped external clients to design and build their own custom equipment. The company also fabricates components for the G-55 secondary containment system.
A factor in the decision to expand to the Battlefords was the fact they were already here. Grit Industries has had a manufacturing facility in the McMillan Industrial Park in west North Battleford for five years. That encouraged King to look to the city to fulfill expansion plans.
"We were interested in a city that wanted us, and appreciated our activities and business, and the fact there was a vacant building that fit our needs was a significant factor in our decision to come to North Battleford," said King.
The company had considered Niagara Falls, Ont., where the company has a sales office, as a possible location due to its proximity to a significant market in the eastern United States. There were also a number of vacant buildings there due to the economic situation, he said, plus an available labour force.
But King said, "we chose to stay in the West, we like Saskatchewan."
He said the company had a good business relationship with SaskEnergy and the Saskatchewan Research Council and said it was important to stay close by.
The plan is to consolidate their existing manufacturing operations at McMillan Industrial Park with the new facility in Parsons Industrial Park.
It was a tough decision to relocate from Lloydminster, where King grew up and where his family has deep roots.
"Unfortunately, with the activity levels there being in the centre of the heavy oil industry," said King, it is "one of the worst places to manufacture because of the activity and the cost of labour and the availability of labour there. It makes it difficult to operate a business there, so we decided to look elsewhere."
King says he is a big believer in the trades and entrepreneurs as the key for economic growth, and says his company is a firm believer in educating staff.
