Brandon made another major business deal last week.
Less than a year after landing the $112 million Maple Leaf Meats plant, the city has been chosen for a new plant to manufacture livestock ventilation equipment.
Installatie Techniek Boxmeer, a family-run Dutch company, plans to invest $1 million to build the plant. The company specializes in products for ventilation and heating in agricultural buildings such as hog, poultry and dairy barns.
“I think it’s further recognition of the economic potential in the Brandon area,” said Lori Dangerfield, vice-president of Brandon’s chamber of commerce. “It’s really nice to see us getting international recognition from companies as well as domestic.”
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The Brandon plant will be ITB’s first investment outside the Netherlands. The facility will employ three to five people initially and as many as 25 within five years. ITB was in Brandon this summer to scout potential sites and is still hammering out financial details.
Brandon mayor Reg Atkinson said the likelihood of the project going ahead is “pretty solid.” He has received written confirmation of the company’s intentions to build at Brandon.
“They’re really nice people,” said Atkinson. “I’ve met them and they’ll be really good to have in the city.”
The ITB venture is seen as another spinoff from Manitoba’s expanding livestock industry. Atkinson expects that expansion to translate into other business opportunities in the region.
“I think a lot of things are going to happen in the next four to five years,” he said.
