Kirkland Lake’s Jim Taylor has been named Entrepreneur of the Year by the Ontario Association of Community Futures Development Corporation.
The president and CEO of Nordex Explosives received the honour at the association’s annual conference in Huntsville in early September.
Taylor was nominated by the Kirkland & District Community Development Corporation from which his company received access to loans in 2004 and 2012. He was chosen from 1,082 nominees submitted by development corporations from across the province.
The Kirkland Lake manufacturer is quickly gaining a reputation as a leader in its field in catering to clients in the mining, quarrying and construction sectors. The company has seen revenue increase from about $900,000 during the fiscal year ending Dec. 31, 2003 to approximately $20 million over the last four reported quarters.
As the “only” Canadian explosives manufacturer, Nordex has developed new emulsion formulations and small diameter products, built manufacturing facilities, and introduced a new robotic arm loading system for explosives while making a strategic expansion into British Columbia.
"When I joined the company in 2003, the company had three part-time employees and owned one white, two-wheel drive pick-up truck,” said Taylor in a Sept. 17 news release. “Here we are, roughly 10 years later with 75 full-time employees; and we have just over 40 trucks on the road, from large transport trucks to pick-up trucks."
Paula Mangotich, executive director of The Kirkland & District Community Development Corporation knew the company had the potential to succeed under Taylor’s leadership.
"We invested quite heavily again, for the future - because you could now see a future," she said in a statement.
