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March 21, 2018

Page 1

OIL CHANGE

29

$

95

startting Y! a EVERYDA NT CALL FOR AN APPOINTME

LEAMINGTON BLOOD DONOR CLINIC

WED., APRIL 4/18 1:00 PM - 7:00 PM at the

KINSMEN RECREATION COMPLEX 1-888-2 DONATE

189 Talbot St. W. Leamington

519-325-0189 Hours M-F: 8am - 5pm • Sat: 8am - 12pm

Volume 9, Issue 9

GOVERNMENT

REBATES ARE BACK! Quality Windows and Doors Exceptional Value

1964 Rd 3 East Kingsville

519-326-8551

(west of the roundabout) Mon - Fri 8 - 4:30, Sat closed www.tmurrexteriors.com

DR.STEVE SCHIEFER invites you to visit him at his new location

24 OAK ST. E. UNIT 3 LEAMINGTON

LATE NIGHT APPOINTMENTS NOW AVAILABLE. CALL FOR DETAILS!

Call to book your eye exam

519-326-8413

Weekend Weather Thursday

H 3º L -2º

Friday

H 2º L -1º

Saturday

H 1º L -1º

Sunday

H 1º L -4º

As reported from Environment Canada www.weatheroffice.gc.ca Harrow AAFC

Wednesday, March 21, 2018

Prescribed burns at Point Pelee Park

Parks Canada is conducting prescribed fires at Point Pelee National Park between March 19 and April 15, when conditions are favourable. Prescribed fires planned for 2018 will be located near the Visitor Centre (1.43 hectares), Cactus Field (3 hectares), Marsh Boardwalk (0.58 hectares) and Sleepy Hollow (1.97 hectares). This prescribed fire program is an important part of the park’s Lake Erie Sand Spit Savannah restoration project. The Park will remain open to visitors during the prescribed fires. Some areas will be closed for short periods of time to ensure visitor and staff safety. The prescribed fires will only be initiated when the environmental and weather conditions are suitable. Extensive planning and careful execution will ensure that the prescribed fires are controlled and contained within predetermined boundaries. Some smoke will be present and visible, but staff will monitor wind conditions and direct smoke away from publicly used areas. Prescribed fires contribute to the restoration of Point Pelee National Park’s globally rare savannah ecosystem by reducing the number of exotic plants, preventing the spread of invading shrubs and trees, and improving habitat for Species at Risk. This is an important step in restoring healthy, resilient ecosystems that support a variety of birds, butterflies, and Species at Risk which depend on open, sunny savannah habitat to survive. For up-to-date information about potential area closures, check the park’s website at parkscanada. gc.ca/pelee and Facebook page at facebook.com/PointPeleeNP.

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Uni-Fab expanding: 33 new jobs By Bryan Jessop A rural Leamington business is using a ‘Fab-ulous’ opportunity to support the region’s employment rate. In part through the Southwestern Ontario Development Fund, Uni-Fab on Highway 77 south of Mersea Road 5 is expanding its operation with the installation of new machinery and the hiring of an additional 33 full time positions. Uni-Fab is one of five locations throughout Windsor and Essex County to benefit from the province’s latest funding program, an initiative set out to generate new employment opportunities. The Leamington-based business received $585,970 through a successful application for the fund while also investing nearly $5.4 million of its own resources to increase output for clients throughout the United States supplying parts to the automotive industry. As part of an expansion process that introduced a new building immedi“It’s created a ately west of the existing location, Univery positive feelFab has installed a ing throughout the new Salvagnini panplant.” el bender as part of — Abe Fehr its metal fabricating operation. The $4.5 million machine will begin functioning by late June of this year, allowing for the automation of the forming and cutting process for sheet metal. The device was installed about a year-and-a-half ahead of schedule. The new building, which began operating in August of last year, has also welcomed a Toshiba bridge mill through a $1.2 million investment. The 10 foot by 20 foot machine was initially put to use when the new building opened and requires two workers per shift to operate, including a programmer. The panel bender, meanwhile, is tended to by an additional three employees. Also, a new smoke collection system has been set up to catch smoke emitting from the end of welding guns instead of allowing it to be pulled to the other end of the shop and collected there. With the construction of Uni-Fab’s new building, the welding capacity of the original structure has been doubled. Currently, the company is hiring machine operators, welders, fitters, assemblers and machinists. As part of the

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agreement for receiving Southwestern Ontario Development Fund money, Uni-Fab was required to hire a minimum of 10 new workers. President Abe Fehr explained that once the expansion process is complete, 33 employers — or possibly more — will join the previous workforce of 135. “With all the new equipment in and the new plant, there are better working conditions for our staff,” Fehr explained. “It’s created a very positive feeling throughout the plant.” Fehr applied for the fund about two years ago and received word that his application was accepted about a year-and-a-half ago. To retain the nearly $586,000, the company must complete its expansion and hiring process by September of 2020 — a deadline that will be met with about two years to spare. Uni-Fab originally began operating in Oldcastle near Windsor in 1991. It relocated to Leamington in 1991 with a workforce of 68 employees, a number that has since doubled. Although it also works alongside the aerospace and oil and gas industries, the majority of the company’s clients are based in the automotive sector. Roughly 90 per cent of those clients are machine and tool operations in locations across the U.S. including Pennsylvania, Texas and Wisconsin that supply automotive companies across the globe. Other local companies benefiting from the fund are Jahn Engineering, Reko International, Technicut Tool and Windsor Industrial Services. Since being introduced in 2013, the Southwestern Ontario Development Fund has offered investments totalling about $163 million while creating and retaining 41,000 jobs. “It’s a good idea. By creating new jobs, the tax base increases which means the government gets its money back,” said Fehr. Fehr hopes to host an open house at Uni-Fab by late summer of this year to officially introduce the new components of the business to the public.

SALE %

STOREWIDE

% STOREWIDE REG. PRICED ITEMS

9 ERIE ST. N. LEAMINGTON 519-326-2222 OPEN SUNDAYS

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MARCH 28th & 29th

OFF

58 Mill St. W., Leamington | 519.326.3665 | thrift.mcc.org | thriftonmill@mccthrift.on.ca


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March 21, 2018 by Southpoint Sun - Issuu