Epiroc begins dismantling and shipping equipment to Fordia Montreal

Large trucks have started the task of moving equipment from North Bay's Epiroc plant in North Bay to Montreal.

"The conversion of our North Bay plant into a distribution center is going according to plan, as per our announcement in April," spokeswoman Julie Massé told BayToday. "There are no changes to the numbers provided, both for layoffs and remaining employees."

The announcement of 65 layoffs back in April, means the once-proud facility that employed almost 100 workers just last year, and had over 130 at its peak, has been reduced to a dozen.

See: Epiroc down to a dozen after layoffs rock local plant. Demise started three years ago

And: Sixty-five lost jobs as Epiroc downgrades North Bay plant to distribution centre

"Epiroc has a similar production capacity in Montreal," said Masse at the time. "This difficult decision was based on an analysis of the two facilities including overall operations and future capacity."

The Epiroc North Bay facility will now be used to distribute ground support tooling, such as the Swellex rock bolting product line across Canada and to store equipment, such as spare parts and components needed in the area.

"This decision reflects the challenging business climate that existed prior to the global pandemic, which now reinforces the need to increase efficiency and strengthen the company for the future," said a news release.