New support for manufacturing businesses on Vancouver Island will create jobs, promote the development of made-in-B.C. products and strengthen regional economies and communities.

“We’re taking action to build resilient communities throughout the province and keep the people of B.C. at the centre of our blueprint for a stronger, cleaner economic future,” said Brenda Bailey, Minister of Jobs, Economic Development and Innovation. “By partnering with diverse manufacturers across Vancouver Island, we’re supporting the growth of local communities and strengthening their economies with good, sustainable jobs.”

Through the BC Manufacturing Jobs Fund, the Government of B.C. is contributing up to $5 million in funding toward six capital projects and four planning projects on Vancouver Island. These projects will see local manufacturers contribute to local supply chains and grow and diversify their operations through new product lines, new equipment and new technology, while establishing new jobs.

Ron Anderson & Sons Ltd. (RAS) is a Chemainus-based wood-product manufacturer that builds and installs prefabricated wood-frame buildings for residential and commercial units. It will receive up to $2 million in funding for a project that will use automation and advanced manufacturing to diversify its products, including prefabricated floors, roof panels and stairs. RAS’s expansion to a new plant will create 35 full-time jobs, increase its output and contribute to the Province’s goal of increasing the supply of new housing and the speed of building through more efficient construction methods.

“Ron Anderson & Sons is more than excited to be a recipient of the BC Manufacturing Jobs Fund,” said Jack Downing, president and CEO, Ron Anderson & Sons Ltd. “By expanding and modernizing our facility in Chemainus, we are not only creating new local jobs, but increasing supply and accelerating installation of much-needed wood frame housing across B.C., efficiently and in a sustainable manner.”

GRT Holdings Ltd. operates a Nanaimo-based resource regeneration facility that takes waste and excess soils from construction projects and creates aggregate products required by the construction industry. It will receive up to $735,000 for a capital project to commission new equipment that will drive production and diversify the aggregate products recycled and distributed to the construction industry, while creating six jobs.

“Support from the BC Manufacturing Jobs Fund enabled GRT to proceed with critical upgrades to our Resource Regeneration Facility where our Regenerock aggregate products are made using a sustainable, low-carbon process,” said Peter Reid, CEO, GRT Holdings Ltd. “This contribution demonstrates our government’s commitment to advancing the circular economy in British Columbia—a transformative approach to doing business that is more important now than ever before.”

Aquila Cedar Products Ltd. is a Parksville-based wood products manufacturer servicing the construction industry with products, such as siding, fence panels and decking. It will be receiving up to $879,000 in funding to buy new equipment and retrofit its manufacturing site, enabling the processing of higher-grade wood products.

“I would like to take the opportunity to thank the BC Manufacturing Jobs Fund for contributing toward our project for growing our business,” said Mak Chimayt, CEO, Aquila Cedar Products Ltd. “This funding allows us to create 20 jobs as a result of upgrading our manufacturing equipment and increasing our production facility to introduce a new line of high-quality timber products.”

The Province is taking action to build a strong and sustainable economy through clean and inclusive growth. Supporting local manufacturing sectors helps build a more innovative economy for people, businesses and communities throughout B.C. With more than three-quarters of the projects located in rural or regional B.C., funding will help create sustainable, well-paying jobs across a range of sectors, leading to economic diversification and growth in smaller communities around the province.

Clean and Competitive: A Blueprint for B.C.’s Industrial Future lays out the Province’s work to drive new investment, create new jobs and seize new opportunities in growing clean energy and sustainable industries. Leveraging B.C.’s strengths to create good jobs and opportunities in every community will improve quality of life, while strengthening B.C.’s diverse economy.

Quick Facts:

• The BC Manufacturing Jobs Fund supports high-value industrial and manufacturing capital projects in all sectors that will create and protect well-paying jobs.
• The fund has committed up to $91.3 million to B.C.’s manufacturing sector, supporting 81 organizations to expand and grow.
• Funds committed to date through the jobs fund will help create more than 1,100 jobs and protect nearly 2,000 existing manufacturing jobs throughout B.C., more than 2,500 of which are in the forest sector.

Learn More:

To learn more about the BC Manufacturing Jobs Fund, visit: gov.bc.ca/ManufacturingJobsFund   

To learn more about Clean and Competitive: A Blueprint for B.C.’s Industrial Future, visit: https://news.gov.bc.ca/files/Clean_and_Competitive.pdf

To learn more about the StrongerBC Economic Plan, visit: https://strongerbc.gov.bc.ca/plan

Two backgrounders follow.