Business View Civil and Municipal | April/May 2022

90 CIVIL AND MUNICIPAL VOLUME 3, ISSUE 3 GE broke ground on the $240 million, 500,000 square foot “brilliant factory” in 2016, and sold it to Advent International in 2018. Advent is using the facility for its standalone energy company INNIO to produce Waukesha fuel flexible gas engines. The “brilliant factory” is the first of its kind in Canada and is the brainchild of GE. The facility uses machines embedded with sensors that can transmit information to remote engineers via industrial internet. “There’s all kinds of automation in the plant using robots,” says Grant Munday, Welland’s Planning Director. “They employ over 250 people now and the parking lot is full. It’s actually one of our best design projects for industrial in the city. It has permeable paving and car charging stations and all of its landscaping is comprised of drought- tolerant, native species.” With GE came a resurgence of new business into the area. Over the past two years, Welland completed its seventh industrial park, which is www.circleppaving.com 905-382-2464 Serving Hamilton & Niagara, Ontario 1994 Stevensville Rd. Stevensville, Ontario L0S 1S0