News
Huron Park receives $1.3M federal investment

MP for Huron-Bruce, Ben Lobb

Sept. 3, 2009, Huron Park, Ont. – Member of parliament for Huron-Bruce, Ben Lobb, announced yesterday an investment of $1.3M by the government of Canada through the Community Adjustment Fund to build an advanced aerospace manufacturing training facility at the Huron Park airport.

“Opportunities for a world-class aircraft industry in Huron Park have been discussed for years. With the support of the Federal government, the HBDC and its partners are finally able to make this happen. This new training facility will help a number of firms in the aircraft industry create well-paying jobs – now and in the future,” states Paul Nichol, Manager, Huron Business Development Corporation.

The initiative, led by a consortium of local partners – Huron Business Development Corporation, Goderich Aircraft Inc., the Municipality of South Huron, Fanshawe College, and the Huron Industrial Park Tenant’s Association – will accelerate the employment and training of displaced tradespersons, avionics graduates, and existing employees, resulting in the creation and/or retention of 60 highly-skilled manufacturing jobs by 2010, and a further 235 by 2015.  The Training Facility will anchor the growth of a new aerospace cluster in South Huron and help address the loss of 30 per cent of the region’s manufacturing jobs.

“The aerospace businesses around the James T. Field Memorial Airport have the potential to generate more than $38M in economic activity across our region by 2015,” says Ken Oke, Mayor, Municipality of South Huron. “This project will provide over $2M in wages by March 2010, alone.”

“Since our launch in 1993, our company has had a vision for steady growth driven by a commitment to our employees, their families, and the local community,” states Blaine Field, Goderich Aircraft Inc. “This investment by the federal government will allow us to hire more people more quickly, furthering our capacity to create opportunities and build the local economy.  We are proud to be co-investors with our partners and the government of Canada in the new Facility.”

“The Training Facility proposed in this application will provide our graduates with the chance to continue to advance their training while gaining practical and hands-on experience within a world-class organization,” says Michael Hanwell, Dean, Centre for Community Services, Fanshawe College.