Kubota Materials Canada Corporation (KMC), in Orillia, is planning a major expansion aimed at increasing production by 30 percent over the next 18 months. It also plans to hire at least 20 more employees.
The growth is part of Kubota’s broader mid-term plan leading up to 2030, which will see its two global petrochemical casting plants, in Orillia and Hirakata, Japan, ramp up output by 50 percent over the next five years, reports orilliamatter.com.
“Kubota is committed to this facility" in Orillia, said Matthew Webb, Vice President of Operations and Engineering at KMC. “If we are able to increase our output and meet the planned expectation, we will see further investment and growth in the years after 2030.”
As part of its expansion, Kubota is actively hiring. “We are about 20 people short of our current plan,” Webb said. “We need maintenance workers (electricians, millwrights), welders, machinists, machine operators, inspectors (government certified) and foundry workers.”
The original steel foundry in Orillia dates back to 1935. The plant was purchased by Kubota Corporation of Osaka, Japan, in 1990 and has since evolved into Kubota Materials, focusing on manufacturing heat-resistant alloy castings for the petrochemical industry.
Webb told orilliamatters.com the planned expansion is essentially a return to pre-2018 production levels.
“We are in the process of commissioning equipment acquired from our plant in Saudi that was recently closed. In addition, we are purchasing some new equipment,” he explained.
“The drive is to gain market share,” Webb said. “The petrochemical industry has expanded rapidly since 2010, and our target is the maintenance of those new plants. We compete on a global level, and our main competitors are in Europe. Both KMC and our Hirakata plant are expanding to meet this need.”