Ten new jobs as Dynacast expands
An industrial manufacturer is hiring 10 new employees after expanding its business thanks to funding from provincial and federal governments.
Dynacast Ltd. is in bringing on 10 full-time staff throughout the next two years.
It manufactures precision-engineered metal component, specializing in die casting and small-component assembly systems. Products range from gaming headsets to cell tower parts.
On Thursday, Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs Minister Jeff Leal, the minister responsible for small business and Peterborough MPP, announced that the province is contributing $137,700 to the Neal Dr. business. The funding comes from the Eastern Ontario Development Fund.
The money will be used to help cover the cost of four, new state-ofthe-art zinc die machines as well as new auxiliary equipment for the machines.
The new machinery will help improve production capacity and increase Dynacast’s workforce. It currently employs more than 120 staff in the city.
Dynacast runs 25 manufacturing plants in 16 countries including China, Italy and America.
Peterborough’s plant used to be known as Fishercast, until it was purchased from Dynacast in 2008.
The federal government also made a contribution to the local facility, granting it $50,000 through the Eastern Ontario Development Program. It’ll be used to hire and train staff through Community Futures Peterborough.
The government support follows Dynacast’s own $2.5-million investment in the expansion.
Doug Montgomery, Dynacast general manager, said he’s pleased to have the financial backing from both governments.
“I’m excited that the (provincial) and federal government are behind us, sometimes we need the assistance to help us,” Montgomery said.
The GM said Dynacast will hire new staff as business starts to grow within their customer base.
The announcement of new jobs in the city lands on the heels of word that GE is letting go of more than 350 employees.
Last Friday, GE announced it would be shutting down its manufacturing plant by September 2018, putting about 358 people out of work.
Mayor Daryl Bennett, who attended the announcement at Dynacast Thursday, said Dynacast’s good news is an indication of the strength and diversity of the Peterborough economy.
Though the 10 new jobs barely make a dent in what GE is losing, it’s the first step in making up that loss, Bennett said.
“You do those one at time. There’s 10 in this announcement, there’s a couple more announcements that’ll be coming out shortly that will start to fill in the bill on the 358,” Bennett said.
The mayor wouldn’t elaborate on the details of those announcements other than to say it’s possible that two “fairly large” new companies might be opening in the community.
GE used to be Peterborough’s largest employer. It now ranks 20th. As it has continued to shrink over the years, the community has adjusted, Bennett said, and that shows diversity.
“We can absorb the loss of the GE jobs and move forward with new opportunities that are coming forth,” said Bennett.
During the announcement, Leal also touched on GE’s plant closing.
“It’s been a real psychological blow to this community and we’ll need to rally all our resources to make sure we look at ways to employ their enormous talents,” Leal said of the employees who’ll be out of work.
As a Peterborough native, Leal spoke of the city’s resilience and the gem that’s been recently added to Peterborough.
The Kawartha Trades and Technology Centre, where trades are taught at Fleming College is likely the most advanced training centre in Canada today, he said.
“That’s a real asset for us to have in Peterborough,” Leal said.