Business View Magazine | October 2019

267 BUSINESS VIEW MAGAZINE OCTOBER 2019 PORT COLBORNE , ONTAR IO Park. We also own a rail line that we lease out to Trillium Railway, our short line operator. It’s a big advantage for businesses because we have a great highway system, and a rail system on the east and west side of the canal.” On the job front, there is significant employment happening in Port Colborne’s “Carbohydrate Valley.” ADM Milling is doing well from its location beside the grain elevator, as is another flour mill called Ceres that just purchased the former Robin Hood Flour building and formed a partnership with London Agricultural Commodities. In addition, Jungbunzlauer Canada Inc., a starch and citric acid producer, has its only North American plant in the area and continues to expand. Shipping is generally active from late March- early April to mid-December. But no one is idle in the winter because Port Colborne has dockage. “We’ve had as many as 12-14 lakers docking here for winter maintenance,” says Steele. “And the Seaway wants to see year-round shipping on the Great Lakes. So, because the dock is part of our port facility, we can actually run 12 months a year. We had, at times, three ice-breakers moving ice between Port Colborne and Windsor this year.” Port Colborne CAO, Scott Luey, speaks to the city’s downtown enhancements. “We have a vibrant, boutique-style downtown with a main business district, and the historic West St. area that is full of shops and restaurants with patios overlooking the canal. There’s a waterfront vibe - very walkable. Looking ahead, we have a $32 million Community Improvement Plan project for the whole downtown area that will do water, sewer, stormwater, roads, sidewalks, streetscaping – once completed it will be the second biggest project we’ve funded in the history of Port Colborne. The first being our Valley Health & Wellness Centre that sits at our largest sports park.” Next on tap, Rankin Construction has purchased an old brownfield factory in the downtown core, along the canal, where they’ll be constructing