Welland steel manufacturer to expand with FedDev loan

“We need to make sure the Niagara region is able to not only maintain the jobs that are present, but also that we can bounce back strongly,” she said in an interview.

“The Americans are certainly investing in their own industry and we need to be competitive, and we need to be part of their own supply chain. Based on that, we’re making key investments such as ASW to make sure we are at the cutting edge of not only technology and change, but also to make sure the region is really competitive.”

She said securing the funding — expected to leverage more than $24 million in private and other investment — was a priority for her, as well as for Niagara Centre MP Vance Badawey, “who worked extremely hard to get that investment.”

“In the Niagara region there’s certainly a history of having an expertise in the steel industry. We know that Valbruna ASW was able to build on that expertise,” she said.

“Now, since they’re really the only steel maker that is able to produce specialty steel we wanted to invest even more.”

Joly said the company is in a period of growth, “and we want to be there to support them.”

“We’ve been working with (Valbruna ASW president) Tim Clutterbuck for some time because we wanted to be there to support the expansion of the company,” she said. “We were able to do it through FedDev, through my department.”

The investment will significantly increase the domestic supply chain spending in regions such as Niagara, Hamilton and Toronto, as Valbruna ASW Inc. expects to double its local supplier purchases.