If you’ve driven Highway 400 near Innisfil Beach Road in recent months, you’ve likely noticed the massive facility taking shape beside the highway.
That new building is a nearly 120,000-square-metre multi-client logistics hub, officially opened by DSV in August and celebrated by stakeholders and the Town of Innisfil on Thursday. It's the largest facility of the company's 22 in Canada.
"I think I've had every mayor in Ontario phone or text me and ask me what that giant building was going up in our town," Innisfil Mayor Lynn Dollin said in prepared remarks.
"It puts a stake in the ground and says, 'come to Innisfil,'" she later told Barrie360.
When it comes to economic impacts, the investment sum has not been outlined, but the hub has added more than 200 jobs, according to Rob Brace, DSV's managing director for Canada.
He says it was a strategic decision to build such a large facility in the town.
"There was nobody that was that was in this area (from a supply chain perspective)," he told Barrie360. "We immediately filled half of the building with a customer that was in our network that had needs—and they supply all of Ontario."
"This has just been prime territory for so long," said Dollin, who noted her experience on the township's council stretches back to 1994. "It's been our vision ever since then to have full municipal servicing here at our four corners... it's just a perfect place to plant your business."
Roughly half the warehouse space is already occupied, with more clients expected to move inventory in soon.
Amid trade uncertainty with the United States, Brace said he is seeing some companies move business into Canada where they weren't before and setting up their distribution because of some of challenges like tariffs.
“You always have to have distribution in Canada," he said.
“Our second customer moving into this building next month had been distributing from the U.S. directly into Canada. Now goods are coming directly overseas into this building.”
Ground was broken for the project in June 2024, marking a quick turnaround for a project with such scale. It features 120 trailer parking spots, 120 dock doors, and four drive-in doors with nearly 13 metre clearance. Also, solar panels cover approximately 16 per cent of the roof.
"When you drive south of here, it takes a little while before you see anything of this size from a warehousing perspective," Brace said. "It's definitely a huge investment... we're planning to be here for a long time."
The company also deepened its footprint in the area with a $5,000 donation to the Innisfil Community Foundation (ICF).
