A Corbeil company is part of a FedNor announcement that sees $6 million in support of 13 different businesses in northern Ontario.
North Bay Plastic Molders got a loan of $479,000 to buy three new plastic injection molding machines to increase product diversity and reach new markets. The new energy-efficient machines allow NBPM to produce larger items that could not be produced with its older equipment.
Don and Jackie Champagne started North Bay Plastic Molders in their residential garage in 1986, according to the company's website.
They assisted customers in the mining and construction sectors. When they began their business, they had one machine running sometimes running 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
To monitor the machines, Don and Jackie would sleep with a baby monitor beside them. That baby monitor was listening to the machines for any alerts. It was not the most advanced alerting system, but it certainly worked thanks to clever thinking and hard work.
As the years went on, customers relied on the products that North Bay Plastic Molders created. This allowed Don and Jackie to build an expansion on their garage in 1992, followed by a second expansion in 1997. In 2011, a third expansion occurred to meet the demand of customers. When completed, they had seven machines that were capable of producing more than 10 times the volume of when they started back in 1986.
In 2020, a 20,000 sq ft building was created just a few kilometers up the road from their home in Corbeil. It was the new home of North Bay Plastic Molders.
Today, North Bay Plastic Molders services customers throughout Canada all the way to the United States, Australia, Africa, and Europe, just to name a few. They are committed to quality products with efficient turnaround times to get the products to their customers when they need it.
Their state-of-the-art facility provides quality plastic moldings to manufacturers all over the world.
Founder and owner Don Champagne says, "This financing will allow us to broaden our customer base and increase exports while increasing productivity and efficiency in order to remain competitive locally and globally. Investments such as this allow us to continue to grow as a company and create more local jobs.”
Meanwhile, another area company, Corexplore Drilling Services will receive $1,000,000 to support purchasing equipment and supplies to establish the business. The funding will support the acquisition of clean-tech drilling equipment and supplies including drill bits, safety equipment, and in-hole tools; and the hiring and training of staff.
Corexplore President of Drilling Services David Jones says "We are expanding our fleet of clean-tech surface drills and creating strong paying long-term jobs for Canadians,”
“These investments will also help the regional economy," added MP Anthony Rota, "By helping local businesses innovate and grow, we can continue to create good jobs and keep people living and working in Nipissing-Timiskaming and throughout Northern Ontario.”
