The federal government has announced an investment of up to $9.3 million to Kumi Canada Corporation, a supplier of injection molding and assembly products that are commonly found in automotive vehicles. The investment comes as the automotive industry continues to face uncertainty amid tariff talk with the United States. Justin Moreau, president of Kumi Canada Corporation, said the investment will go towards automation and keeping up with fast-changing technology. “This kind of investment gives us the ability to improve our efficiencies and improve our technology so that we can be the most efficient, best valued, supplier to our customers,” said Moreau. Moreau adds the investment will continue to help Kumi keep up with other businesses applying for work. “Every time there’s a new model, you have to bid the business over again,” said Moreau. “So, it’s like starting from zero, so we’re not just trying to grow, but we’re trying to maintain the jobs that we already have here.” Kumi employs more than 270 people and the investment could see Kumi hire an additional 60 employees. It is also a major supplier for Honda Canada Manufacturing (HCM) with over 75 per cent of their product staying right here in Ontario. Mayor of Bradford West Gwillimbury James Leduc said the investment is important as it aims to keep automotive businesses in the region “Bringing more funds to Simcoe County and Bradford is important as Honda is in our area,” said Leduc. “These are suppliers for Honda, and we want to make sure that we keep Honda here, we keep the suppliers going, and those investments are going to make that happen.” The federal government is taking notice and investing in the automotive industry, helping local businesses continue to make competitive products. The investment is, in-part, the federal government’s new auto strategy which contains investments through The Regional Tariff Response to support businesses impacted by tariffs. Evan Solomon Minister of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Innovation and Minister are responsible for the Federal Economic Development Agency for southern Ontario (FedDev). He said the investment is a boost to the auto-sector and the government confidence in investing in the industry amid uncertainty. “The message here is that we’ve been building cars in this country for 100 years, and we’re going to be building cars in this country for another hundred years,” said Solomon. “And we’re going to do it by investing in the companies that are the best in the world, the best workforce in the world, most advanced workforce in the world, producing the best products in the world and that’s the way we’re going to stay competitive.” With more investments means more people willing to spend their money in Bradford leaving local businesses motivated to continue serving their community. “We’ve got a smaller community that’s growing at a rapid pace and having more investment in the town has allowed us an opportunity to be able to have jobs in town, keep folks from leaving and staying here to be able to actually get work,” said Jonathan McEwen, general manager at Canadian Tire in Bradford.
