Dura-Line has signed a long-term lease for a new manufacturing facility in Campbell Business Park, creating an estimated maximum of 90 new jobs.
Dura-Line, a multi-national company which manufactures products such as telecommunication conduit (protective casing for wires) out of high-density polyethylene (a type of plastic), announced its plan for a 150,000-square-foot facility at 220 Carnegie Dr., in a press release on Aug. 16.
The new facility has been a couple of years in the making, according to Paul Sartori, the director of sales for Dura-Line in Canada.
"We see a significant upside in the Canadian market," Sartori said in an interview. “It’s time that we step up in Canada and do what we do and really leverage that global footprint that we have.”
Dura-Line is owned by Orbia, formerly known as Mexichem, which is a mass-producer of polymers, polyvinyl chloride, and a range of other infrastructure-based plastic products. In 2021, Orbia reported a net revenue of $8.8 billion US.
The St. Albert plant will be Dura-Line's second Canadian facility. The other, located in Gravenhurst, Ont., is currently manufacturing all of Dura-Line's products sold in Canada.
“If you’re looking at shipping stuff from Ontario across to Alberta, for example, it gets pretty pricey these days with supply chain interruptions and increased cost across the board," said Sartori. "It just made more sense to put a point of presence there and support the local economy of St. Albert.”
To get the facility operational, Sartori said the Carnegie Drive building is undergoing significant renovations, which are already underway.
"The entire building, the inside, is getting an exhaustive remodelling of sorts,” he said.
"It’s a significant amount of work in terms of cutting concrete, putting cooling lines in for our extruders, [and] there’s a lot of work that needs to be done outside as well.
"Outside, [there is] yard preparation and silos that need to be placed at the back of the building close to the rail line for raw material or resin," said Sartori.
In the Aug. 16 release, the company said the facility is scheduled to be fully operational some time next spring.
In terms of what type of work Dura-Line will be looking to hire for, Sartori said there will mainly be line-based manufacturing and equipment maintenance jobs.
"It’s a variety of different functions," he said. "Our business is conducive to extrusion, so you’ve got long pieces of machinery extruding pipe and different types of material.
"Typically,lly it’s people that are coiling this stuff or taking it off the assembly, so it’s a lot of laborious type work."
Sartori said that, as a company, Dura-Line takes pride in giving employees extensive training to ensure safety.
Well-established industry
In an email, Mayor Cathy Heron told The Gazette that Dura-Line's decision to open a manufacturing facility in St. Albert is another addition to the city's strong manufacturing industry.
"Plastics manufacturing in particular is also well-established, with several large manufacturers calling St. Albert home and generating [$69 million] in annual exports," Heron said.
"By choosing St. Albert, Dura-Line reaffirms the city’s competitive advantage in plastics manufacturing and as a smart choice for businesses in the sector.”
Heron also said Dura-Line's renovation and remodelling to the facility is expected to result in an increased non-residential tax assessment for the property.
"Where St. Albert stands to benefit further from the residential/non-residential tax split will be through initiatives like the Lakeview Business District that is currently in development, where the city has an additional 618 acres of industrial land available to support new industry and jobs with access to major transportation routes, and all the other benefits doing business in St. Albert has to offer,” Heron explained.
Dura-Line is already looking for applicants to staff its new facility. The company is scheduled to take part in an upcoming job fair organized by the city, St. Albert Further Education, the St. Albert Chamber of Commerce, the Northern Alberta Business Incubator, and the provincial government.
From 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. on Sept. 8 at Servus Place, companies such as Dura-Line, Sarcomere, Dynamics, Telecon, and Award Construction will be looking to fill openings for skilled trade jobs such as machine operators, wiring technicians, welders, mechanical and electrical engineers, assemblers, and production workers.
"There will also be an opportunity for job seekers to book a free resume consultation with the St. Albert Public Library Career Resource Services," Heron said.
"The event is free to attend and job seekers can learn more by visiting stalbert.ca and searching Industry Job Fair.”
