Ontario supports local manufacturers with $2.1 million to boost regional development

The Ontario government is supporting two Southwestern Ontario companies, EDGE Automation and Takumi Stamping Canada,  with more than $2.1 million in investment funding.

The government is offering the funds through its Regional Development Program (RDP) to the companies to boost local manufacturing and create 78 new good-paying jobs in London and St. Thomas.

“Our government is proud to support local manufacturers as they look to expand their operations and create more jobs,” said Vic Fedeli, Minister of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade. “We’re creating the right conditions to attract more investments to Southwestern Ontario from both global companies like Volkswagen and local businesses like EDGE Automation and Takumi Stamping Canada Inc.”

EDGE Automation is a London-based manufacturer that provides automated solutions in mechanical and electrical design and programming, product manufacturing and custom machine building. The company is investing nearly $5.2 million to expand its operations. The expansion will include a larger facility, new equipment and a new enterprise resource planning system to improve efficiencies. The provincial government is supporting this project with more than $778,000 through RDP’s Southwestern Ontario Development Fund.

“EDGE welcomes the RDP funding, which will help accelerate our growth and team expansion,” said Gerard Regier, president of EDGE Automation. “At a time of economic uncertainty and rising costs, the funding helped make our expansion plans more financially viable. The expansion will help us create local high-value jobs and reinvest into our employees.”

Takumi Stamping Canada is an automotive parts manufacturer based in St. Thomas. The company ships 500,000 parts in over 540 different part offerings per day. It is investing nearly $9 million to expand its plant and add new operating equipment. Ontario is supporting this expansion with more than $1.3 million in provincial funding.

“Our team at Takumi Stamping Canada remains very excited about the opportunities that the provincial funding through the RDP’s Southwestern Ontario Development Fund supports as we move towards future growth of the business and continue to build upon our strong foundations in the community,” said Masakatsu Nakata, COO and chief engineering officer for Takumi Stamping Canada.