Morbern Undertakes $9 million Expansion

Cornwall Ontario – One of Cornwall’s largest employers will be expanding.

Morbern has announced an 18 month project to add 20,000 ft² of additional manufacturing space to its existing manufacturing facility in the Cornwall Business Park. The expansion is to accommodate a new state of the art, high-speed coating line.

In all, the project represents an investment of $9 million.

“This will allow us to continue our expansion into our various markets and will allow us to offer better products than our existing technology allows,” said Mark Bloomfield, Chief Executive Officer of Morbern. “As well, this line will allow us to better compete with competitors from countries throughout the world. This is a big step forward for Morbern, and for Cornwall, and we are very excited here.”

The project has been under development for 9 months, with construction started in earnest in April.   The new building will be erected over the summer by local contractor, Perras-Distefano. The new equipment will arrive by fall, and will be fully implemented by the New Year.

The new printing line will incorporate a great deal of new technology. The equipment was sourced through a comprehensive purchasing review, with 7 international bidders in the process. The equipment is highly specialized, with a 55 week lead time from initial purchase order to full release to Morbern.

“Some of the things we are doing on this line have never been done in our industry. We are taking best-practices from other industries, and incorporating them in this new line.  It’s going to be an amazing sight,” said Jacques St. Denis, President of Morbern. “Our capabilities here in Cornwall are going to be world class.”

The expansion was completed with help of the Canadian government, through financing from the Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC).

“Over 75% of the financing requirements will be through a new term debt loan from BDC,” said Mr. Bloomfield.

The Ontario government also contributed with a grant from the Eastern Ontario Development Fund.

About Morbern

Morbern is a privately held, coated fabric manufacturer located in Cornwall, and has been producing in Cornwall for 52 years.    Their markets are the automotive, heavy truck, and general seating products throughout the NAFTA region.  Morbern employs roughly 400 people throughout the world, 250 of which are in Cornwall.

• Web: morbern.com

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