Windsor-Essex gets $4M in grants
The provincial government is investing more than $3.5 million in Windsor-Essex manufacturing companies, and Windsor is getting more than $212,000 for main street revitalization, Economic Development and Growth Minister Steven Del Duca announced Thursday. Reko International Group Inc. in Lakeshore will receive $1.5 million through the province’s Southwestern Ontario Development Fund. President and CEO Diane Reko said a $5.5 million expansion of more than 48,000 square feet is wrapping up and the company is investing close to $10 million more for a total of about $15 million for the expansion, including new equipment and innovative processes. “We’re very appreciative. It definitely was a factor in helping us make this decision,” she said of choosing to invest here instead of the United States. The $1.5 million from the province is expected to help Reko create 30 jobs by 2021 and retain 200 positions. Reko International Group Inc. is among five Windsor and Essex County businesses receiving provincial funding that should help create 168 jobs within five years and help retain about 500 jobs, the ministry said. Del Duca said there are thresholds with the grants to make sure the jobs are being created, meaning that the companies will receive more of the provincial grant money as they make their investments.
“It’s great news, great news for these companies that they themselves are investing as well to help create and sustain the employment we’re talking about,” Del Duca said.
Reko said the company has three divisions. It machines large parts that are not automotive related, it makes plastic injection and compression moulds for automotive parts producers, and it has an automation division it wants to grow. She said customers, often in the automotive business, ask Reko International Group Inc. to design and build automated systems that could include robots to produce a part or attach a part.
Jahn Engineering Ltd. in Oldcastle is expected to receive $602,456 from the development fund as it spends more than $6 million and creates 80 positions by January 2021.
The other companies in Windsor-Essex receiving funding include $661,722 for Technicut Tool Inc. in Windsor, $585,970 for UniFab, a metal fabricating company in Leamington, and $185,700 for Windsor Industrial Services, the ministry said.
When asked about the grants that may not produce jobs until at least 2020 and the timing before the fall election, Del Duca said the Southwestern Ontario Development Fund has existed for years. He said the provincial government has created more than 800,000 jobs since the depths of the recession.
Del Duca discussed the grants in an interview after standing along Ouellette Avenue in downtown Windsor Thursday morning to make an announcement on main street revitalization. Windsor will receive up to $212,289. He said each municipality except Toronto is receiving funding based on population through the $26-million Main Street Revitalization Initiative. The program is relatively new and can help small businesses compete with large retail outlets, he said.
The money could be used to plant trees along main streets, make cosmetic improvements, add pedestrian crosswalks or give money to businesses to improve storefronts.
“When our small business sector thrives, our community and our broader economy thrives as well,” he said.
Ward 3 city Coun. Rino Bortolin said the money likely won’t go to the Walkerville crosswalk. Facade improvements are popular with businesses and he said he would also like to see more trees planted. “There’s definitely no shortage of projects that can be used for this.”
Coun. Jo-Anne Gignac thanked the minister and explained the money was for main streets across Windsor, not just the downtown. Municipalities across Essex County are also getting money under the initiative. Amherstburg should receive $54,624, Essex $53,345, Kingsville $54,298, Lakeshore $59,339, LaSalle $53,892, Leamington $50,703 and Tecumseh $55,719. The Township of Pelee is in line for $36,243.
When our small business sector thrives, our community and our broader economy thrives, as well.