Welland, Ontario

6 CIVIL AND MUNICIPAL VOLUME 3, ISSUE 3 WELLAND , ONTAR IO touch the product. It goes through an automated system that works on tracks and basically in two weeks’ time they can have a full head of lettuce from seed to finish. “They are planning to actually expand further with their facility. They started with phase one and they’ve had great success.” The city was successful in landing its new breed of industry thanks to its forward-thinking economic development department. “They are leading edge,” Zorbas says. “They planted the seeds years ago and I would say they have very progressive and out-of-the-box thinking. The city is unique here – not only do we purchase industrial land, we service it, and we sell industrial land to the private sector to come to already at 80 percent capacity. The parks are home to businesses from big to small, including Northern Gold Foods, that operates an industrial bakery out of a 200,000 square-foot facility. As well as Devron Sales Ltd. that produces and sells wide range of products that are related to the construction, drainage and environmental industries. Unlike its traditional manufacturing industries of the past, Welland is becoming a place where new technology can thrive. Along with the INNIO brilliant factory, the city is also home to Intravision Greens. “It’s a space-age technology where they grow leafy greens in totally controlled environments with LED lights,” Munday says. “Hands barely ever