As demand for its innovative, shipping-container-based homes and office buildings gained momentum over the last year, Edmonton real estate developer CNTNR set its sights on expanding into Ontario — and specifically to the Niagara city of Welland.
CNTNR (pronounced “container”) uses repurposed steel shipping cans to build stunning, energy-efficient, and environmentally-friendly buildings of virtually any kind, and saw Welland as the ideal candidate for its new 125,000-square-foot manufacturing plant.
“They want us to be there, they’re going to support us and we know that we can get access to their great manufacturing talent pool,” said Adam Morris, chief executive officer of CNTNR.
“And, it’s going to be the least expensive of the three locations [we looked at],” he added. “That made it a slam dunk.”
Welland, a city of about 52,000 people in the heart of Ontario’s Niagara region, about an hour from Toronto and 30 minutes from the U.S. border, has a long history as one of Canada’s strongest manufacturing hubs.
Its skilled and experienced labour force is a turn-key resource with in-depth knowledge of precision machining, metal forming, electrical and connectivity work, hydraulics and power distribution.
That was the main selling point for CNTNR, which hopes to eventually employ as many as 600 people at its Welland facility located in the former Stelco pipe plant.
“We were told right up front that if you come here and are competitive … there is a bevy of skilled manufacturing expertise locally that will make the jump to you,” said Morris.
Welland’s close proximity to the Greater Toronto Area and the U.S. border, and its access to grads from Niagara College, Brock University and McMaster University, also helped close the deal.
Add to this Welland’s low industrial lease rates, its quick-turnaround construction approvals and its proactive, business-friendly approach, and the decision was ultimately a no-brainer.
“We’re thrilled to be expanding our footprint across Canada to a centralized location,” said Morris. “And we’re excited to bring our product to a greater group of people.”
This kind of story is increasingly common in Welland, which also has one of the most accessible housing markets in southern Ontario. The average home sale price here is just $328,000 — roughly a third of the average price in Toronto.
“We seem to have some great success, just by the service we offer,” said Lina DeChellis, economic development officer for the City of Welland.
“We expedite the building permit phase and put things through at a faster pace, which seems to be a benefit for a lot of industries.”
This expedited system allows companies to begin construction within eight weeks of making an application, she said. In other parts of Ontario, the same process can take years.
“Time is money,” said Neville D'Souza, CEO of Niagara Holdings, the parent company of Intravision Greens (Canada), a vertical hydroponics-based farming company that recently completed the first phase of construction on a 20,000-square-foot growing facility in Welland.
“So that reduction of startup time is an important factor,” he said. “And when you have the city working with you, that helps a lot.”
Intravision Greens (Canada) uses a first-of-its-kind gravity-flow growing system designed to produce high volumes of romaine lettuce, arugula, kale, basil and other leafy greens.
This system consists of hydroponic growing modules that are stacked on top of each other in long aluminium racks, using a fraction of the land required for conventional farming.
The company considered other sites in and around Guelph but chose Welland for many of the same reasons that attracted CNTNR and several other companies: proximity to the GTA, access to the U.S. border, inexpensive land and a business-friendly political approach.
“We were looking for a place where the project will have a very minimal carbon footprint,” added D'Souza. “Obviously hydroponic farming, by nature, uses less water and land. But on the power side, having clean power from Welland hydro was another big feature in selecting Welland.”
In order to incentivize and attract new businesses, Welland also offers the Gateway Economic Zone community improvement plan, which refunds between 45 per cent and 100 per cent of the municipal and regional portions of industrial property taxes over a 10-year period.
Though the city is historically known as a manufacturing hub — and that continues to be the case — Welland has also attracted food processing and business services operations, including a 150-plus person call centre run by Kanetix Insurance.
“If you come to Welland, you are going to see a community that welcomes you with open arms,” said Adam Morris of CNTNR.
“You’re also going to see fantastic support from all levels of government, as well as other businesses … we’re thrilled to be in Welland.”
For more information about the benefits of relocating to Welland, expanding there with a new location or launching a startup in this vibrant, innovative city, visit madeinwelland.ca.
