The provincial government is granting $880,695 to a Newmarket textile manufacturer to help expand capacity.
Precambrian Products, which is spending $5.6 million to expand its production line, manufactures non-woven fabrics used in products like medical-grade masks. The company has started growing from three production lines to five, with each line able to make 1.2 tonnes of material a day.
CEO Dave Lea said they started the business a few years ago to meet the demand for masks during the pandemic. He said it was inspired as a way to help a neighbour who was an anesthesiologist.
“We need to make this support, medical products, made here locally and not imported,” Lea said. “This infusion will accelerate our growth. We’re going to be retaining the technology that we learned about and keep it in Ontario. We’re going to make better jobs in Ontario.”
The provincial funding comes from the regional development program’s advanced manufacturing and innovation competitiveness stream, which offers grants primarily to small and medium-sized enterprises. Newmarket-Aurora MPP Dawn Gallagher Murphy said the funding will allow for the training of all current employees and the creation of 32 new jobs in the community.
“Our government’s philosophy is we want to assist private enterprise to grow their business,” Gallagher Murphy said at an Aug. 15 news conference. “As they grow their business, more people are working and it is the private sector that is truly the engine of Ontario, and this is how we are going to succeed economically as a province is ensuring that our private enterprise can succeed.”
She further said that Precambrian is a good local success story, noting it has been able to pivot to have its materials used for other products with the demand for protective equipment declined.
“Their support for the community goes above and beyond and does not go unnoticed,” Gallagher Murphy said.
The non-woven fabric can be used in a number of different sectors, according to Precambrian, including construction materials, oil absorption and HVAC.
Lea said in the event of another pandemic, they could easily pivot to production focused on mask material to keep Canada well supplied.
“We’re going to have lots of equipment to the point where we can supply all of Canada if something were to go wrong,” he said.