Innisfil will be the new home to a multitude of new jobs after investments made into the building of a new high-voltage power transformer facility.
Set to be located off 9th Line, Northern Transformer Corporation will establish a new plant that's set to create an estimated 151 jobs, as stated in an announcement and groundbreaking ceremony at the site Thursday. However, that number could rise to as many as 200, according to chairman Giovanni Marcelli.
The company already has a production facility of over 11,000 square metres in Maple, but will expand its efforts enough to require a 17,000 sq. metre plant. It will manufacture and test high-voltage transformers with the capabilities to handle up to 500 kilovolts and 750 mega volt-amperes, which are critical to industries like energy production, data centres, mining, and steel production.
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To make the expansion possible, Northern Transformer is investing $207 million, while the Ontario government is providing $10.5 million through the Invest Ontario Fund. The Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario also invested $6 million into the project.
"This facility located in the Innisfil Heights Economic and Employment Area is our direct response to the increasing demand for high voltage large-pattern transformers," Northern Transformer president and CEO Alexei Miecznikowski said at Thursday's announcement. "The kind of infrastructure that powers our grids supports electrification and drives clean economic development across the whole country."
Miecznikowski says the corporation takes pride in expanding its provincial footprint, stating that roughly 75 per cent of the company's spending is done in Ontario.
The province says this continues an initiative by the its government to invest in Ontario businesses, provide the workforce new opportunities, and strengthen domestic supply chains in the wake of tariffs imposed by the United States.
"Across North America, the demand for large-scale transformers is surging," said Ontario Minister of Economic Development and Job Creation Vic Fedeli said Thursday. "Critical infrastructure is aging. Our needs are growing. Our industries of all shapes and sizes are looking for genuine partners who they can trust. Partners who afford stability, reliability and opportunities for growth; and Ontario stands ready to meet all of those demands of the day."
Since the start of the Invest Ontario initiative, the province has invested over $7.6 billion, creating more than 9,700 jobs. Last year, the government said the manufacturing sector accounts for over 800,000 jobs province-wide.
"We're making Ontario more resilient, better prepared for all of those challenges ahead," Fedeli added. "We can make all of these things ourselves with Ontario components right here."
The highlight for many at Thursday's press conference was Marcelli's impassioned, first-person telling of his entrepreneurial journey. He explained his journey from immigrating to Canada from Italy, buying Northern Transformer in 2016, and the process of expanding the company's footprint.
"This is only the beginning, because I know that the good Lord put me in this world to build businesses," he said before fighting off tears to finish his remarks.
"The thing that we wanted to do is build a company where people will be recognized on merit. People who enjoy working there would share our dream of bringing the transformer industry back to Ontario," Marcelli said. "Ontario used to be a powerhouse of transformers. We lost it, and it was my intent that through Northern growing, we would rebuild that industry."
"That virtue of hard work and great sacrifice and opportunity to prove that can be realized is the story that our government is committed to realizing for the next generation," Ontario Minister of Energy and Mines Stephen Lecce said at the announcement.
County of Simcoe warden Basil Clarke recalled touring the company's facility in Maple and being enlightened by the enthusiasm of the employees. Meanwhile, Innisfil mayor Lynn Dollin said Marcelli recognized the Town's staff for being a key reason Northern Transformer chose Innisfil as the home for its new facility.
Proximity to Highway 400 and the Barrie-Collingwood Railway also played a factor, and make the location advantageous.
Thursday's announcement also factors in potential for students at Georgian College, based in Barrie, to find work in their field.
"We're starting those conversations about building the pipeline," Georgian College president Kevin Weaver said to Barrie360. "We're looking at co-op students predominantly from electric and electromechanical programs to be able to go into co-op placements and then future grad opportunities. But they have jobs for a variety of our program areas."
Northern Transformer's facility is set to be opened sometime in 2028.
