BCS Automation Ltd. held a groundbreaking ceremony this past Thursday, Sept. 3rd for its new 34,000-square-foot advanced manufacturing facility at 435 Station Street in Belleville.
The $10.7-million private investment will allow the company to retain 32 existing jobs, create at least 15 new skilled positions and significantly expand its manufacturing capacity.
After more than 35 years in Belleville, BCS is evolving from a small engineering firm into an advanced manufacturer expected to employ 50 people.
The expansion is being driven by Canada’s National Shipbuilding Strategy and Vancouver Shipyards’ investment in BCS as a Canadian supplier. BCS manufactures critical power-control hardware for Vancouver Shipyards, and the new facility will provide the space, equipment and production systems required to support this work for years to come.
The ceremony brought together the entire BCS team and numerous community supporters and local leaders, including Mayor Neil Ellis, who helped break ground with a golden shovel. BCS Automation president Nathan Bowland spoke about the role the National Shipbuilding Strategy has played in the company’s growth and the skilled employment the expansion will create in Belleville.
“This is exactly what the NSS is designed to do. We’re leveraging Canadian expertise in shipbuilding, expanding our ability to offer that expertise to our customers and creating great jobs here at home,” Bowland said.
“We are recruiting and training people in this region to perform highly skilled manufacturing and design work in support of the strategy. The equipment built here will help the Royal Canadian Navy and the Canadian Coast Guard renew our national fleet and patrol the Arctic. We are incredibly proud to do that work right here in Belleville.”
Jill Raycroft, chief executive officer of the Belleville Chamber of Commerce, also attended the ceremony.
“Today’s groundbreaking is an opportunity to share a great ‘homegrown’ story of a unique business from Belleville that has an international impact with a product created here and soon to be made here. BCS Automation may not be a household name yet, and its commitment to growing in Belleville is a decision to be celebrated and not taken for granted.”
