MUSKOKA MANUFACTURERS GET $843,000 FROM PROVINCE ON $6M INVESTMENT

Mark Clairmont | MuskokaTODAY.com

GRAVENHURST — A couple of expanding Muskoka businesses received a visit today from Ontario’s economic and trade minister bearing $843,000 in job creation investment.

Icarus Aero Inc., in Gravenhurst, and Embertech Industrial, in Bracebridge, welcomed Vic Fedeli who made the announcements hours apart Thursday afternoon through the province’s regional development program.

The manufacturers expect to create 18 jobs in the next few years with combined investment of almost $6 million.

Fedeli stopped at the Muskoka Airport first to tour Icarus with owner Ryan Hader.

Hader’s aeronautic design company will receive $480,000 to expand his airport facility from 4,000 square feet to 13,000 square feet.

The $3.2 million project is to begin building in March after a materials delay due to COVID, Hader said after the announcement.

He said eight jobs would be added over the next three to four years.

They would add to the three already on staff and a student coder.

Hader said they are already looking for full- and part-time specialty-design workers and student tech help.

He and his wife, Erin Lambie, of Bracebridge, head up the design company team, which hopes the government grant will help their custom high-tech surveillance camera business take off even further after a 2013 take off in Acton.

They landed in Muskoka in 2019, attracted by the lure of access to a runway that will eventually allow them to bring airplanes indoors to outfit them.

An accompanying release from the minister’s office says: Icarus Aero (Icarus Aero Inc.) provides mission-specific (e.g., medical, rescue, military, policing, firefighting) and highly-customized engineering, certification, and manufacturing solutions for rotary and fixed-wing aircraft worldwide. … They will also purchase new equipment, including CNC (computer numerical control) machines and routers, plasma cutters, and 3D aircraft scanning technology.”

The upgraded space and equipment will allow the company to increase productivity and expand into new global markets that require niche product design and manufacturing.

Hader said they’ve already done specialized contract work throughout the U.S., Europe and the Middle East.

Icarus made headlines in June 2020 when they used their 3-D plotter to make several hundred face shields for COVID use.

Vic Fedeli, Ontario’s economic development, job creation and trade minister, looks at a part cut in the Icarus 3-D printer during a funding announcement this afternoon at the Muskoka Airport in Gravenhurst.

Embertech Industrial is investing nearly $2.7 million to upgrade and expand their project facilities in Bracebridge, including installation of three-phase power, which will help to increase productivity and production capacity, the release said.

It says the company will also move forward with the commercialization of a new hydroelectric microturbine for use in private or commercial settings where a river or stream is available that can be harnessed for clean, renewable energy.

With Ontario’s $362,897 investment Embertech will create 10 new jobs and expects to support more than five major suppliers in the region.

“Embertech’s diversity of projects and customers provides an exciting workplace for people to explore and develop themselves in the skilled trades,” said GM Tanya Neal.

“Our experience and specialization in clean energy development and maintenance, coupled with the right facility and tools, will greatly contribute and support important global environmental goals. Without the Regional Development Funding we are receiving, it could take years to eliminate the roadblocks we face in successfully contributing to the development of both of these important objectives. The growth of our facility, equipment, staffing, revenue and research and development is already occurring thanks to the initiation of this project, and we are very excited to see the impact this has on our community overall.”

Embertech owners Tanya and Mike Neal toured Vic Fedeli through their expanding Barron Drive facility in Bracebridge Thursday showing him some of the diverse pieces of work they do with their 25 employees.
Owners Ryan Hader and his wife Erin Lambie are investing $3.2 million in a new 9,000 square foot hangar expansion to open up the Gravenhurst business to indoor aircraft installation staring next spring.
Icarus employees Aiden Wilkinson, left, Anton Starastin, Wes Brown and John Baptist are part of the design team that creates custom surveillance camera systems for international aircraft.

 

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