A major mining supply company, MacLean Engineering, is expanding its mining supply footprint to North Bay, opening a new facility Sept. 18 at the West Ferris Industrial Park. The company acquired the old Epiroc facility on Ferris Drive in 2025 and renovated the 95,000-square-foot plant. It will now be used to build underground mining equipment and repair older machines. “Some of the equipment that you’ll actually see being manufactured here supports our ground support lines,” said Stella Holloway, president of MacLean Engineering. “So that would be bolters and shotcrete sprayers. We also have a utility fleet line (that) supports the logistics underground, so we have scissor lifts, which are elevated work platforms. We also have ore flow facilitation.” Officials said North Bay was chosen for its pristine location, direct access to customers in Ontario and Quebec and rail line connection for mines farther away. “This is another example of how important it is for the entire north to see this as a win,” said Marla Tremblay, executive director of MineConnect. “It’s a very cyclical industry.” MineConnect is a not-for-profit association that represents and promotes the mining supply and service sector in Ontario. As a turnkey space, the North Bay building offers potential to expand MacLean Engineering’s manufacturing and engineering capabilities. The facility also adds to the company’s existing Canadian manufacturing bases in Barrie, Collingwood and Owen Sound and its Queretaro, Mexico, base at the same time. “We’re right down the highway from our southern Ontario plants, too,” Adamson said. “For part distribution and material flow, we’re very well located.” Mayor Peter Chirico said that despite there not being any mines within 100 kilometres of the city, several mining supply companies have decided to set up shop. “This is the centre of the universe as far as mining is concerned, with the amount of people that this industry employs in our community,” Chirico said. MacLean Engineering aims to have 100 employees at the new facility by the end of the year, with a second shift being added in 2027, for a total of 200 jobs. That means the team is looking for welders, machinists, electricians, mechanical assemblers, and other staff such as engineers and supervisors. “We do have a very aggressive ramp-up for 2027,” Holloway added. “We have a very strong hold and footprint in Canada.” Holloway said there might be an opportunity to include production for its surface mining vehicle division at the plant one day. The company is always keeping an eye on the tariff and political situation, citing its positive working relationship with the U.S. The company has a facility in Elko, Nevada. “It is going to be a conversation that we’re going to continue to have to deal with,” Holloway said. “We’re going to continue to expand there in the U.S.” Tremblay said mining supply is affected by tariffs in a different form compared to other Canadian industries that ship products across the border. “They’ve been diversifying across the world for a long time,” she said, adding that the shift began during the COVID-19 pandemic when supply chain challenges began. Tremblay said several mining supply companies are exploring more partnerships across the country, noting it’s not about putting a Band-Aid on short-term pain but looking at better ways of finding a “cure.” Meanwhile, MacLean Engineering is committing to having no diesel engines in underground mines by 2040.
