A local manufacturing company has landed a contract with Ontario Power Generation to provide a brand new product.
Anthony Griffiths — the Project Manager at MacLean Engineering and Marketing — says they’ve developed a heavy-lift vehicle that can move up to 80 tonnes of dry containers with used fuel rods.
OPG needs the machinery so they can move the rods to fully recycle them.
Griffiths says the product was developed by their engineering teams in Owen Sound and Collingwood, and it’s been about three years of work.
He’s hoping they will be able to start cutting steel in January, and deliver the product by this time next year.
Griffiths notes that while dollar-wise this is a positive story for the company, it’s also good news for the local manufacturing community.
He says it means they’re able to provide good jobs — and they’ve already added six more engineers to the Owen Sound staff of just under 100.
And he adds it’s a foot in the door with OPG to show them what the manufacturer can do, and open up the potential for future partnerships.
Griffiths says they’re also exploring other uses for the machinery in the future, and how it could be marketed to other municipalities and companies in Ontario.
Councillor Arlene Wright and Mayor Deb Haswell both suggested that it might be a good idea for MacLean’s to attend conferences like AMO and Good Roads to show other councils what type of work the local company is doing.
