A $17-million manufacturing hub is celebrating its grand opening in Windsor-Essex.
Convoy Technologies Canada Ltd. celebrated the official opening of their new 18,000-square-foot facility in the Town of Tecumseh on Friday morning.
Convoy Technologies - an Indiana-based company - is a leading provider of advanced safety and monitoring solutions such as cameras, monitors, AI-powered driver training systems and related accessories for commercial vehicles and construction equipment.
Representatives from the Province of Ontario, Invest WindsorEssex, and the Town of Tecumseh were present while Convoy Technologies showcased their production plant.
Over the next four to five years, Convoy Technologies will be investing between $2 and $4-million in facility upgrades and equipment and is expected to employ between 35 to 50 people.
Ron Harker, President of Convoy Technologies Inc., says this facility will become the centrepiece of the company.
"Convoy Technologies provides cameras and recording devices for commercial vehicles of all kinds, think things like 18-wheelers, even think about things like off-road like construction equipment, mining, areas like that. We're also with the opening of this facility going to expand our business into the power sports industry."
He says the company chose Windsor-Essex due to the proximity to the Ambassador Bridge.
"Obviously with the new bridge opening hopefully later this year it's even easier access. We know that a huge percentage of the trade between Canada and the United States goes across that one bridge, and so we believe that the opening of the new bridge will even make those logistics simpler as we move the products into our primary market, which is the United States."
Harker says he's not too concerned over the tariff situation between Canada and the U.S.
"We don't focus too much on the headlines because things change really rapidly. And we believe a lot of what's going on right now is both the Canadian side and the United States side are positioning themselves for the renegotiation of the trade agreement that will happen next year. And so, my advice to anyone is don't worry too much about the headlines, focus on your business, and that's what we're doing here."
Convoy Technologies was founded in 2008. Invest WindsorEssex and the Town of Tecumseh started conversations with the company in September 2022 and supported their expansion to the region.
Convoy Technologies also expects to launch several new and innovative products from the Windsor-Essex facility, where most of the company's research and development will be conducted.
The facility is located at 2516 Binder Crescent in the Town of Tecumseh.