Circuit control panels to be made in Thunder Bay.Circuit control panels to be made in Thunder Bay Thunder Bay, city (1991 pop. 113,946), SW Ont., Canada, on Thunder Bay inlet of Lake Superior. The city was created in 1970 by the amalgamation of the twin cities of Fort William and Port Arthur and two adjoining townships. After four years of negotiations, a pair of Pacific Rim Pacific Rim, term used to describe the nations bordering the Pacific Ocean and the island countries situated in it. In the post–World War II era, the Pacific Rim has become an increasingly important and interconnected economic region. manufacturing firms are ready to set up shop in Thunder Bay. Leo Leo, in astronomy Leo [Lat.,=the lion], northern constellation lying S of Ursa Major and on the ecliptic (apparent path of the sun through the heavens) between Cancer and Virgo; it is one of the constellations of the zodiac. Sakata Electronics (Canada) Ltd. and Earnway Industries (Canada) Ltd. have both announced that they will begin operating out of the Balmoral IV Industrial Park by the summer. Leo Sakata Electronics will assemble printed circuit control panels used in microwave ovens and other electronic appliances, while Earnway will produce plastic items such as food containers and telephone casings. Richard Charbonneau, general manager of the Thunder Bay Economic Development Corporation and spokesman for the two companies, said Earnway could eventually expand its production to include items such as toys and novelty items which are currently manufactured at the company's Hong Kong Hong Kong (hŏng kŏng), Mandarin Xianggang, special administrative region of China, formerly a British crown colony (2005 est. pop. 6,899,000), land area 422 sq mi (1,092 sq km), adjacent to Guangdong prov. facility. According to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. Charbonneau, both companies decided to locate in Thunder Bay for a simple reason. "We brought them here," he said, noting that attempts will be made to utilize Canadian suppliers and the local labor force. A total of 126 positions, including 100 at Leo Sakata, are expected to be created by the two firms. Most of the technical positions fall into the moderately skilled category. The decision to locate Leo Sakata in Thunder Bay also played a pivotal role in a similar decision regarding Earnway, since the latter company supplies control panel housings to the electronics firm. In addition, Leo Sakata Electronics (Canada) Ltd., touted as the first integrated micro-electronics plant in Northern Ontario Northern Ontario is the part of the province of Ontario which lies north of Lake Huron (including Georgian Bay), the French River and Lake Nipissing. Northern Ontario has a land area of 802,000 km² (310,000 mi²) and constitutes 87% of the land area of Ontario, although it , is a joint venture of Earnway Industries, Leo Sakata Electronics Pte. Ltd. of Singapore and Sakata Inc. (USA) Corporation. According to Charbonneau, the deals to bring the two companies to Thunder Bay were originally signed last spring, but were not announced until funding commitments from both the federal and provincial governments were finalized. Earnway Industries will receive a $250,000 repayable contribution from the Federal Economic Development Initiative in Northern Ontario (FedNor) core industrial program and a $50,000 forgivable loan from the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund The Northern Ontario Heritage Fund is a division of the Ministry of Northern Development and Mines in the Canadian province of Ontario, whose purpose is to provide funding and program support to foster economic development in the economically disadvantaged Northern Ontario region. . The Northern Ontario Development Corporation (NODC NODC National Oceanographic Data Center NODC Northern Ontario Development Corporation (Government of Ontario, Canada) ) has also offered a $405,000 loan for the project. "It (the NODC contribution) is still under negotiation," said Charbonneau. "We're anticipating confirmation in the next few weeks." If the NODC loan is approved, the federal and provincial governments will be financing more than 46 per cent of the $1.4-million project. Leo Sakata received a $500,000 repayable, interest-free loan from FedNor, with repayment beginning three years from the plant's start-up date, a $500,000 loan from the NODC and a $50,000 forgivable loan from the heritage fund. The total cost of the Sakata project is $3.3 million. |
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