Big Eddy Machine Shop, a machine-part manufacturer for industries such as forestry repair and rail maintenance, will receive as much as $152,270 toward acquiring a milling machine. The machine will increase efficiency, add a new product line, create one new job and foster a more inclusive and accessible operating environment.
Kevin Mayr, owner and president, Big Eddy Machine Shop, says:“We're very excited and grateful to have received funding from the BC Manufacturing Jobs Fund (BCMJF) to purchase a new CNC milling machine. It will help us provide our forestry, railway and other customers with better quality parts, better lead times and allow us to keep more manufacturing local. This is a huge step forward for our business and it wouldn't be possible without a program like the BCMJF.”
The $180-million BC Manufacturing Jobs Fund supports for-profit organizations to plan and launch shovel-ready, high-value industrial and manufacturing projects that bring direct benefits and stable, family-supporting jobs to communities, while driving clean and inclusive growth throughout the province.
Support for wood products manufacturing throughout B.C. is an ongoing focus of the BC Manufacturing Jobs Fund to protect forestry jobs and create more positions in the sector for every tree harvested. The BCMJF has seen strong uptake across the forestry sector, announcing more than $22 million to forestry-related projects so far to grow B.C.’s value-added wood manufacturing sector. In addition, the BCMJF is helping forestry sector operators modernize and adopt technologies that will reduce dependence on old-growth trees and create new opportunities for fibre supply.
The BCMJF funding will help create more than 450 jobs, while also maintaining and protecting more than 780 existing manufacturing jobs throughout B.C. As much as $36 million has been committed to 25 capital projects and 13 planning projects for manufacturers looking to expand and fortify their operations through the introduction of new product lines, upgrading outdated equipment and building new facilities. These funded projects represent more than $300 million in capital investment being made in the manufacturing sector in B.C.
