GE Canada’s Peterborough, Ont., plant wins Energy East supply deal
by Canadian Manufacturing Staff
Custom electric motors for Calgary-based company's Energy East pipeline project will be built at Peterborough facility
PETERBOROUGH, Ont.—The General Electric Canada Inc. (GE Canada) plant in Peterborough, Ont., has won a tentative contract from TransCanada Corp. to build electric motors for the Calgary-based company’s Energy East pipeline project.
The contract is expected to create 250 jobs at GE Canada and across its local supply chain over a two-year period, and is the first major win for the plant following five years of modernization that saw about $65 million invested there.
GE Canada said the electric motors being built for TransCanada in Peterborough would likely have been made by GE in South America if not for the modernization.
“TransCanada’s Energy East project will generate jobs in Peterborough, and with our local suppliers,” GE Canada chief executive Elyse Allan said in a statement.
“(This) announcement recognizes GE’s investment in advanced manufacturing and our employee’s expertise in building high quality motors to support Canada’s oil and gas sector. We are optimistic that this is just the beginning of many opportunities that will be generated from TransCanada’s critical infrastructure investment.”
Ontario Economic Development, Employment, and Infrastructure Minister Brad Duguid call the modernization at the GE Canada plant “a great example of the opportunities that Ontario’s highly skilled workforce and strong advanced manufacturing sector attract.
“Our government’s priority is to continue fostering an innovative business climate to ensure that companies, like GE, can continue attracting investments and creating good paying jobs across Ontario,” Duguid said.
Work is anticipated to begin following final decisions from the National Energy Board (NEB) and the federal government.
