As we all navigated the many challenges brought by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic throughout 2021, Opportunities NB (ONB) remained committed to working with businesses to help them grow and succeed. And succeed they did – in all regions and communities across the province.
Today, we continue our regional look back at the many successes our province had in 2021, highlighting some of the most notable many success stories that we have been a part of along the way. ONB is dedicated to continuing to work with our federal, provincial, and sectoral partners to drive continued success this year and into the future.
We now shift our attention to the Northeast region of the province.
The Northeast Region (Gloucester, Northumberland, and Restigouche counties)
In May, A.L.P.A. Equipment commissioned a new manufacturing facility to ramp up production of their A.L. Fabrication engineering division’s LANDRICH tracked harvester. The company will make use of a former industrial building located in the Eel River Dundee Industrial Park. This 63,000 sq ft facility will accommodate the company’s in-house manufacturing and assembly capability while decreasing its dependency on outsourcing many components of the project. A.L.P.A. estimates that their current annual output will increase by five times in the next five years because of this expansion – from five units to 25 units annually. This also means workforce growth for Northern New Brunswick, as the expansion will result in the creation of 25 new positions, bringing their team to a total of 35 full-time employees.
Founded in 1858, Wajax is a leading provider of industrial products and services for customers in mining, construction, forestry, energy, manufacturing, and several other industries. The company’s Bathurst branch is currently establishing a cylinder exchange program (CEP), following the successful model established by Wajax in Prince George, BC. This type of service does not currently exist in Eastern Canada; Wajax Bathurst will be the first. Wajax made almost $800k in capital investments in 2021 to establish the Bathurst-based CEP. With support from ONB, Wajax expects to create 14 new positions over the next three years, nearly doubling its Bathurst workforce.
One of the true economic engines of the Restigouche region, Groupe Savoie continues to recognize the importance of improving their productivity and maximizing value from our hardwood forests. This year saw Groupe Savoie further invest in automation and waste recovery improvements for their cabinet and furniture components production line. These investments allowed the company to produce more efficiently and re-deploy skilled talent to other sections of the company which were in need of more assistance.
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ONB will continue to tell the stories of the New Brunswick companies thriving in 2022. Watch this space and our social media for more: Twitter – Facebook – LinkedIn – YouTube