THUNDER BAY – Thunder Bay Hydraulics has been in business for more than 50 years, but co-owner Jamie Crozier said a little government help never hurts.
His Montreal Street manufacturing facility was the recipient of $217,374 through the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund Corporation, money that will be used to commercialize a luxury car lift and open opportunities in the private sector around the world.
Crozier, whose company employs 37 people locally, said the money is imperative to not only his business, but like-minded facilities throughout the region.
“NOHFC is always a big player in Northern Ontario, and I think one of the things NOHFC does is puts investment into companies in Northwestern Ontario that allows them to expand into new markets, and allows them to do some things that are a little bit outside their comfort zone,” Crozier said.
The company was one of 10 to receive money in the recent round of funding, ranging from $7,967 for North West Industries Inc. to upgrade and purchase new equipment, to $970,000 awarded to Itec 2000 Equipment Inc. for a new hydraulic shop.
Other recipients include Canada Concrete Corporation, EcoCarbon Foam, Lakehead Ironworks and A.M. Ludwig Shaw Shop, which got $111,071 for the purchase and installation of needed equipment.
Crozier said growing the business is important for its future success.
“This project allowed us to expand to a commercial market that we were not familiar with. I think we’ve done a pretty good job over the last 10 years into the residential market. This project allowed us to go into the commercial market and really focus on those lifts and the specifications that are needed in order to hit that market,” Crozier said, pointing to car dealerships as a potential business target.
Conservative MPP Kevin Holland (Thunder Bay-Atikokan) said that’s precisely what NOHFC funding is meant to do.
Given the economic realities and supply chain issues facing businesses around the world, every little bit helps.
“It just increases the capacity of our businesses to reach out and grow their businesses,” said Holland of Wednesday’s $2.1-million announcement.
“We have challenges in the North. Businesses in the North have always had challenges they’ve had to face. But they’re resilient and they’ve overcome those. We’re coming out of a tough economic time through COVID. There were a lot of supply chain issues,” Holland said.
“Businesses have seen some challenges they haven’t seen in the past. Funding like this helps the businesses continue to move forward and grow. It’s going to be key to us recovering the economy here.”
