Woodstock: At the crossroads of a diverse economy

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Once known as Canada’s dairy capital, for the rich farm belt that surrounds it, Woodstock is now a big wheel in Ontario’s auto industry but is anxious to further diversify its economy.

In short, the growing city of about 50,000 wants to avoid becoming a one-trick pony.

The question is, how?

The Southwestern Ontario city counts among its major employers Toyota, which operates an assembly plant there, auto parts maker Vuteq and other auto industry suppliers that together employ thousands. Still, Woodstock officials have long been wary of relying too heavily on any one industry.

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“We’re going to continue to try to attract automotive investment, but we’re looking at other sorts of investment, as well,” said Brad Hammond, the city’s economic development officer.

While the auto industry remains a priority for Woodstock, located at the junction of two of Ontario’s 400-series highways, the 401 and 403, the city is also trying to leverage that charmed location in the region’s vast farm belt and industrial heartland to expand into other sectors.

Branching out and diversifying the economic base is important so that the city is not left “susceptible to the ups and downs of the economic cycles,” said Hammond.

One example of that strategy in action?

Take the recent sale of a 34-hectare plot of industrial land in the city’s south end that brushes up against Highway 401, the nation’s busiest super-highway.

When the land was sold through a request for proposals, the interest shown in the turf exceeded the amount of land available for sale.

With Woodstock looking to diversify, officials looked closely at the proposals to see what sectors they came from and how they might fit with a city looking to vary its economic make-up.

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Among the proposals was one that came in from a Dutch company that supplies plate steel to the marine industry. Another came from a paper-processing company.

Most of the companies the city ended up selling space to at the 34-hectare site did a large part of their business in the domestic or Canadian market, Hammond said, and stressed the importance of expanding its economic base.

After proposal requests for the site wrapped up in the summer of 2023, most of the sales agreements were signed in early 2024.

“A lot of those companies now are starting to get into building permits and things like that,” Hammond said.

One of the first to get the nod from city council was Stubbe’s, an Oxford County-based cement and precast company. Another buyer that found a home on the site was Valo Biomedia, a German-based company that produces eggs and related biological media that’s use in vaccine production and pharmaceutical research.

But diversifying Woodstock’s economy demands more than simply seeking out other manufacturers.

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A sector that’s often eclipsed by Woodstock’s “strong foothold” in auto manufacturing and agriculture – and one that could grow with a little TLC – is tourism, which contributes billions of dollars annually to the Ontario economy.

Mike Crabbe, the general manager of the Woodstock District Chamber of Commerce, pointed to the city’s historic Victorian-era downtown and nearby hiking trails as potential draws for out-of-town visitors.

With culinary tourism also enjoying a post-COVID boom, and Woodstock serving as the seat for the largely rural Oxford County, attractions like the popular Oxford County Cheese Trail – a group of cheesemaker, retailers and restaurants – offer another reason to visit the Dairy Capital and support the local economy, Crabbe added.

“We have some really beautiful areas in our community that it would be nice to be able to drive more foot traffic and people that might not normally come visit Woodstock,” Crabbe said.

Other sectors that stray from traditional manufacturing but fit well with Woodstock’s spot at the junction of the two 400-series highways are logistics and food processing. Being minutes away from highway on-ramps means shipping and distribution companies can quickly move products to larger Canadian cities and into the United States.

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“We’re so close to the 401 and the 403,” Crabbe said. “It’s really a prime location for being able to easily send and receive shipments. We do certainly have some food processing in our community, but I think that there certainly would be a great opportunity to continue to build on that and welcome new companies, as well as expand on those companies that are here, support them and help them grow and expand within our community.”

Emerging as the second-fastest growing city in Southwestern Ontario, Woodstock’s expansion into other sectors, including more high-tech fields, is critical in attracting new residents while keeping younger workers in the community.

Crabbe pointed to technology, biotech and health-care robotics as key sectors in potentially keeping younger Woodstonians who might be pondering a move to Toronto or London for work.

“Often, they leave to learn about these things, and so I think to be able to have more high-tech industry available to us would drive more of a desire to stay local for those youth that have started here,” Crabbe said.

The key, Hammond added, is continuing to exploit Woodstock’s prime location.

“We’ve got that natural geographic advantage that we’re an hour and a half or two hours from the U.S. border.”

bwilliams@postmedia.com

@BrianWatLFPress

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