Kropf Industrial has added a 13,500-square-foot addition onto its manufacturing facility in Parry Sound.
The company, which started as a small, backyard welding shop in 1977, now boasts 24,000 square feet of space.
Kropf does a variety of manufacturing work, including hydraulic trailers, docking systems, and aquaculture cage systems, in addition to steel and aluminum fabrication, conventional and CNC machining, CNC plasma and oxy-fuel plate cutting, crane truck services, and hydraulic parts and service.
The recent expansion included the construction of a state-of-the-art sandblasting booth and a modern paint booth, upgrades that were made to enhance working conditions, decrease production costs and increase the company's competitiveness.
Kropf also hired an additional five staff members, in the areas of production, sales and administration, to serve their domestic and international markets.
The expansion was made possible with $1 million in funding from the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund Corp. (NOHFC).
Although the project was complete earlier this year, the NOHFC only made the funding announcement public on Aug. 16.
“We are grateful for the provincial government’s generous financial support, which has helped our Kropf Industrial team reach an important goal to expand and reach more international markets,” said company president Darin Kropf in a news release.
“Our customer base has increased over the last several months, resulting in the opportunity to hire many more new employees.”
