North Bay's Jack Garland Airport has been in the industrial park business for some time.
Local dignitaries decided to make it official on June 26 by announcing that the 600-acre business park is open for business and already has its third tenant secured.
Drillers Edge, a local manufacturer of diamond drill bits, is planning a major move from Main Street West up to Airport Hill and into a new 25,000-square-foot shop that will employ 20 people.
In a City of North Bay press release, company president John Daniels was excited about the upcoming groundbreaking on a new building that allow them to ramp up production.
“It will allow us to quadruple our current capacity and compete as a top tier supplier to global exploration companies.”
The park is already home to two other North Bay companies that have selected spots for their new digs.
Barrie Hard Chrome Plating swung open the doors on a 12,000-square-foot establishment in February and Minehoists International is getting ready to move into a 14,000-square-foot building this summer.
North Bay mayor Al McDonald said the Drillers Edge expansion builds on the city's growth in advanced manufacturing and the various offshoots from the aviation and aerospace sector.
“This is just another example of the vision and implementation of building this airport industrial park that will drive growth and create jobs well into the future.”
The previous week, the airport announced $299,892 had arrived from the federal Airports Capital Assistance Program to replace a runway sweeper and fix up a sand storage building.
