Ontario Construction News
Quebec-based Corbec Steel is expanding to Hamilton, building a galvanizing plant in the Red Hill Business Park at a cost of $50 million and $100 million.
Corbec announced the plan last Thursday, for its first plant in Ontario — expected to create approximately 100 local jobs.
The new plant — which will specialize in hot-dip galvanizing — will cover an area of 100,000 square feet and have an annual capacity of 100 million pounds of steel products, according to a media release.
“What brought us here … We like the strategic location (near) the US border for some American market potential,” said Corbec CEO John Hall. “We felt that was noticeably different than some of the other cities we visited.”
He also said the employment environment was good in Hamilton, with “the right amount and right quality of people to build our business here.”
Hamilton’s new plant will primarily serve the southwest Toronto region, according to the release, and is expected to be “one of the most technologically advanced galvanizing plants in North America,” with state-of-the-art safety features and green technology.
Steel products that will be galvanized at the factory include engineered structures such as bridges, windmills, towers, exposed architectural steel structures, fencing and farming equipment, the release said.
Hall said he was “truly grateful to the City of Hamilton and the Government of Ontario” for support and the company is excited “to serve various industries across the province” while being an “integral part of the country’s thriving steel industry.”
The Quebec-based steel company was founded in 1965 and is considered one of the leading steel galvanizers in central and eastern Canada, with an overall annual production capacity of 250 million pounds.
“You want to fit in with the environment and the type of neighbouring companies,” said Hall. “It felt like a good fit and here we are.”
Corbec operates three galvanizing plants in Quebec City, Montreal and Princeville and employs more than 300 people across its Quebec facilities.