Epiroc announced today that it is converting its North Bay production facility at 67 Ferris Drive into a distribution centre and transferring production to other facilities in Quebec and Sweden.
"This restructuring will result in a reduction of 65 positions.," says a news release from the company. "The employees who are part of the local engineering, sales and product management teams dedicated to rock exploration, will remain in the North Bay facility.
"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," the release continues. "The North Bay Distribution Center will remain active and continue serving clients."
The manufacture of products, like the HobicTM core bit series and the Epiroc wireline drill rods, are moving to our Montréal facility as part of our overall plan to become more efficient and gain synergies,” said Denis Landry, Vice President Exploration at Epiroc. “We regret that we have to let people go, but we must adapt to changing market conditions so the company is strong for the future.”
The North Bay facility belongs to the Ground Support and Rock Exploration business lines within the Tools & Attachments division of Epiroc. The production for Ground Support and its renowned SwellexTM product line will be transferred to Sweden.
The production for Rock Exploration will gradually move to Montréal, Québec, where Epiroc already manufactures diamond tools and tubular products dedicated to the mineral exploration industry within the Fordia Powered by Epiroc facilities. Investments will be made to support the transition of those product lines starting in May 2020 and to be completed during the year.
See: Province spends $2.3 million on seven North Bay businesses, creates 61 new jobs
And:Province hands out more than $750,000 to area businesses
