Stratford, Ontario — A Chinese company that has been attempting to build a manufacturing facility in Ontario since 2018 has officially chosen Stratford to be the home of its first Canadian location.
Invest Stratford, the city’s economic development corporation, confirmed Thursday afternoon that a potential $400 million development could bring approx. 230 jobs, and is being considered in the city’s southwest corner near Wright Business Park.
Xinyi is a known Canadian auto parts glass provider and their Stratford plant would make “float glass,” for the building sector.
The chief executive of investSratford, Joani Gerber, said the decision by the Chinese manufacturer is bringing significant economic development opportunity and a potential “good news story,” for the community with a lot of positive economic impacts.
“This was a long and arduous search by the company,” she said. “They were very interested in the number of locations throughout the province and they’ve decided that Stratford is their preferred site.”
Mayor of Stratford Dan Mathieson stated that the city is prepared to begin working on a development agreement.
“The potential opportunity, I think, is a strong one for several reasons,” he said.
The major is citing the diversification of the city’s economic base moving past its traditional industries, more frequent use of a local rail line, and the expansion of the city’s industrial park.
“I’m very much supportive of it. I would just say the employment opportunities will be important as well as we see changes in the economy,” he continued and speculated that it could bring more opportunities to potential spinoffs. “With an investment of this size, there’s also spinoff companies that will locate here as a result of that, whether that be supply chain or … secondary-use manufacturing, those kinds of things,” she said.
However—Stratford was not Xinyi’s first choice.
The Chinese manufacturer made a bit for land in Guelph-Eramosa Township, between Guelph and Cambridge, but was turned down in 2018 by the town due to its high water use and the fact that the community is on a good system.
Mayor Mathieson says that potential water usage is part of the due diligence of the development that city officials have already done. The water system in Stratford and the one in Guelph-Eramosa is like comparing “apples and oranges.”
“(Xinyi is), yes, a high-water user,” he said. “They’re also reclaiming a large amount of the water to reuse in their processes, which I think is important. Stratford has the capacity within our existing water reserves and, according to our Ministry of the Environment-approved water permit, we feel confident it represents prudent use of those resources.”
Stratford had to make agreements with neighboring municipalities to gain more space for the facility—including boundary adjustments. After adjustments were approved, Stratford annexed three parcels of privately owned farmland along highway 7 and line 29 in August that created about 130 hectares of industrial land near Wright Business park.
Potential developments for the annexed land other than Xinyi’s facility are being pursued, according to investStratford’s press release.
Xinyi committed to opening its first North American facility in Ontario following a 2017 trade mission from the Ontario government.
Xinyi Glass Holdings, the parent company of Xinyi Canada Glass, was founded in 1988 and is headquartered in Hong Kong.
The company’s plants make about 2,500 tonnes of glass daily for the automobile and construction markets.
