WINDSOR — The Windsor-Essex County Economic Development Corporation is touting its successes for 2019 and pointing out the successes don't 'stop just because of COVID-19.
During its Annual General Meeting, it noted the success of business expansion, attraction and start-up businesses which amounted to $102-million in investments by companies in 2019.
It will also mean the creation of more than 1, 000 jobs within two years.
"We never say we created these jobs, we are always very careful to say we provided assistance or we worked with companies and they made the investment and they created the jobs," says corporation CEO Stephen MacKenzie.
He points out the overall numbers in 2019 are down from 2018, but they are still great numbers to celebrate.
At the same time, Mackenzie says an international company has picked Windsor-Essex for its Canadian office.
MacKenzie can't name the company but says it is in the field of automation and engineering and will create 10 jobs to start.
"We had the success in the last two weeks where a company that we were working with prior to COVID has made the decision that Windsor-Essex is where they are going to locate their Canadian office," says MacKenzie. "The active leads that we had before this [covid-19] are still active."
There were also 8.3-million dollars in grants received locally for different business activities such as promoting innovation and the electrification of vehicles, and automation.