West Grey Ontario

7 CIVIL AND MUNICIPAL VOLUME 4, ISSUE 12 WEST GREY, ONTARIO On the industrial and manufacturing side, notable factories such as Gemini Signs, specializing in custom signage and various products, operate their Canadian headquarters in Neustadt. The former town of Durham is home to Durham Furniture, renowned since 1889 for crafting high quality hardwood furniture. Molok, a Finnish company that manufactures semi-underground waste containers for worldwide markets, has its North American headquarters in West Grey. Their headquarters, built by H. Bye Construction, is, in fact, part of the 100-acre industrial park in West Grey developed by H. Bye Construction who are celebrating three generations of local, community building. Viking-Cives snow removal equipment plant is also located in this park, employing 150 people. As well, Sinoboom has an assembly plant in the municipality, where they build lift equipment which is shipped across Canada. From construction to manufacturing, to high-tech, West Grey’s business community is diverse and expanding. Telestat, one of world’s largest and most successful global satellite operators, has their Canadian operations located in West Grey, where millions of dollars have been invested in its satellite network. Entrepreneurial spirit is alive and well in West Grey, and when it comes to the small business community, Eccles says, “a lot of times, the best thing we can do is get out of the way, remove the bureaucracy, and stay in touch with our community to encourage that entrepreneurial spirit.” He shares that the municipality is home to a vast variety of small businesses from small auto repair garages, to well drilling, retail and personal services, agriculture and value-added agriculture, and much more in between. “We see a lot of diversity, because out of the 13,000 people living in West Grey, 2,600 live in Durham, 700 or 800 live in Neustadt, but the majority are our rural residents,” he acknowledges. “What the municipality supplies is the infrastructure,