Auto parts plant celebrates $40M expansion with Queen’s Park support

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WOODSTOCK – An auto parts plant here on Monday took the wraps off a $40-million expansion that makes it the second largest employer in Oxford County, behind only Toyota.

Vuteq Canada, with 1,300 workers, is growing by 82,000 square feet and will add new machinery and technology as well as workers to its Keyes Drive plant.

“This is one of the biggest expansions we have had in 35 years,” said Ezio Andreola, Vuteq Canada’s president.

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Vuteq makes interior and exterior plastic parts for four different automakers. In addition to expanding the building, it’s adding four large injection-moulding machines and altering the layout and flow of the building to improve efficiency, he said.

The investment will see Vuteq add 145 jobs and it’s also adding more robotics technology, Andreola said. “We’re excited about this. We’re at a pretty comfortable size now.”

Vuteq has continued to add business, now boasting GM, Honda, Ford and Toyota among its clients.

To help with the expansion, Vuteq will receive a $5-million loan from the provincial government’s Ontario Regional Development Fund.

Vuteq is one of four Woodstock and Oxford County businesses to get provincial funding, totalling $11.4 million, largely loans, it was announced Monday. The four industries are expected to spend $93 million combined on their expansions and create a total of 187 new jobs.

“For us it’s about consistency. We continue to invest in industrial lands. It’s a pricey item for taxpayers but it pays off with jobs, assessment growth and industrial activity,” said Len Magyar, chief executive economic development for Woodstock.

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Vuteq was the first business from Japan to invest in Woodstock, he added. “They’ve had a number of expansions over its history and they continue to grow.”

The other businesses getting provincial support are: 

• Trans-Mit Steel Inc. specializes in steel products, mostly for electric vehicle motors. It will invest more than $23 million and get $3 million from the province, creating 17 new jobs.
• Armtec Inc. makes products for construction and agriculture. It will invest more than $27 million on a new plant in Tillsonburg. It will get about $3 million in funding and create nine new jobs.
• MTO Metal Products Inc. makes metal parts for different sectors. It has invested $2.5 million in new manufacturing equipment and will get $386,000 from the province, creating 16 new jobs.

“We’ve created the right conditions for companies like Vuteq to succeed and grow right at home,” Vic Fedeli, Ontario’s economic development minister, said at Vuteq on Monday, where he announced the financial support.

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“One of the greatest strengths we have is the local talent, ingenuity and innovation found in companies like this.”

Fedeli also stressed that his government has helped land electric vehicle (EV) investment to Ontario, supported by significant federal government funding. Ontario can now boast a Stellantis EV battery plant in Windsor, Volkswagen in St. Thomas, and GM has added EV production to its Cami Assembly plant in Ingersoll.

Honda has announced it will also invest $15 billion in several Ontario plants.

“We said to the Ontario communities: Please start assembling land and start getting involved with us in this opportunity,” Fedeli said. “Our job is to bring companies from Japan, South Korea, Germany and Europe to the attention of Ontario and bring them to areas that have land assembled.”

Vuteq, headquartered in Japan, has been in Woodstock for 35 years and now has two plants making up a total of 600,000 sq. ft. Toyota Motor Manufacturing Canada employs about 8,500 between plants in Woodstock and Cambridge. 

ndebono@postmedia.com

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