By NICK STEWART
After nearly a decade of searching for the right opportunity to lease space in North Bay, Sudbury’s Maslack Supply has decided to construct its own $1.5 million building on Airport Road.
The automotive and trucking parts supply company purchased a strip of property in the city’s north end, where it is currently in the process of establishing a 9,000-square-foot site.
“The fact is that there’s very little leasing space fit for our needs left in the entire city, and we’ve been looking for some time,” Stephen Marks, general manager.
“We never found the proper location for what we need, so we bought some land and we’re setting up our own building.”
Having begun in May 2007, work is steadily progressing at the site, where local firm Kenalex Construction Company Limited is acting as the contractor.
Paving and curbing were completed in November in advance of the winter haulting of asphalt production.
The building was fully enclosed by late December, with a potential grand opening slated for the new year.
Marks says the facility will act as a smaller version of its main Sudbury branch, and will initially employ eight to 10 people.
This marks Maslack Supply’s first major expansion in four years, when the company bought Sudbury competitor Bryson Automotive.
The new site will complement the company’s other seven locations scattered throughout the northeast, including Sudbury, Timmins and Elliot Lake.
In recent years, Maslack Supply has considered looking to areas in northwestern Ontario such as Sault Ste. Marie and Thunder Bay for additional expansion. However, Marks says the company currently wishes to focus on its existing strengths in the northeast.
While the new outlet is set to cater to the Sturgeon Falls and North Bay markets, Marks says its centralized location will also allow it to service other nearby areas.
In fact, being an hour and a half away from the company’s home office, Marks says the new location is ideal as it ties in perfectly with existing distribution centres in Powassan and Noelville, while allowing for quick visits from the head office.
Marks says the expansion is a sign of how the company is flourishing and growing in the wake of strong economic times in the North. Maslack Supply’s success is mirroring that of the Northern economy “except lumber,” he says.
“It’s a good opportunity for us,” Marks says. “North Bay is a growing community, and it just seems like the next logical step, especially as it allows us to better serve the many existing customers we have out there already.”
The construction of the new facility is also a sign to North Bay mayor Vic Fedeli.
Alongside the imminent arrival of other commercial entities to North Bay such as Future Shop, Boston Pizza and the Hart Store, Maslack Supply’s local investment is a sign of the city’s continued strength, Fedeli says.
“These kinds of things are a great indication of how well the city is doing. It really is good news all around.”
