North Bay site of new manufacturing plant (7/03)

By Ian Ross

A new turf tractor manufacturing plant could be operating in North Bay by next spring. The operation could create 20 new jobs in the community. Carl Crewson, owner of Plastitech Products, is partnering with International Business Development (IBD) Inc. of Toronto to build a professional turf tractor for export to Europe and the U.S. Two of the principles in the partnership, brothers Bill and Stan zeban of Toronto, have relations in the Powassan-Restoule area. The large diesel-powered riding tractor, built for commercial use, features the ability to discharge clippings in a high capacity collection hopper at the tractor’s rear.

Robert Ernst, IBD vice-president, says seven prototypes have been built, including the last two in North Bay at the Plastitech plant on Progress Court. He expects to have four production-ready models built by September and another seven samples in December. Serial production should commence by spring.

The assembly plant will occupy about 2,000 square feet at Plastitech. “We’ll use the existing facility, and as it outgrows the facility we’ll look at expansion.”

The plant will initially employ about 20 welders and assembly line workers with employment expected to “go up quite dramatically as production increases” by fall 2004.

IBD will maintain a showroom and sales office in Toronto, but the manufacturing plant will be in North Bay.

Selling between $15,000 and $20,000 (Cdn), the tractor has a cutting width of 137 centimetres and a speed of 19 kilometres per hour. Production models will be powered by a 25.5-horsepower diesel engine with hydraulic-powered drive wheels, lift and gate.

The company is targeting the tractor for municipal applications, golf courses, commercial estate use, “anywhere where clip collection is important,” says Ernst.

“We have developed this unit in conjunction with customers who have been targeted already, and we’ve worked with them to get their input into design of unit.”

In late July, FedNor contributed a loan of $220,000 to IBD towards the development and marketing of the tractor. Ernst says there remains engineering work and development costs for the unit.