Beyond Municipal Boundaries: How Advanced Manufacturing Investment Is Strengthening Southwestern Ontario

Posted Date
Norbec

A major investment may land in one municipality, but its economic impact rarely stops at the municipal boundary.

Across Southwestern Ontario, advanced manufacturing investments are creating opportunities that extend well beyond the communities where new facilities are built. They connect businesses, strengthen supply chains, generate demand for specialized products and services, and reinforce the region's position as a competitive destination for international investment.

Norbec

One of the latest examples is unfolding between Middlesex County and the City of St. Thomas, where two significant manufacturing investments are intersecting.

Norbec, a Canadian manufacturer that opened its highly automated production facility in Strathroy-Caradoc just two years ago, has been awarded a contract to supply insulated metal panels for the St. Thomas gigafactory of PowerCo, the battery company of Germany’s Volkswagen Group.

The contract represents an important achievement for Norbec. More broadly, it illustrates how an investment attracted to one municipality can become part of the supply chain supporting another major investment nearby.

It also reinforces why economic development organizations across Southwestern Ontario collaborate to attract investment, strengthen industrial capabilities and create an environment where businesses and supply chains can grow together.

From Investment Attraction to Regional Opportunity

Volkswagen Group's PowerCo gigafactory in St. Thomas represents one of the largest advanced manufacturing investments in Canadian history.

With a planned investment of up to $7 billion, annual production capacity of up to 90 gigawatt-hours and the potential to support 2,500 direct jobs, the facility will play an important role in Volkswagen's North American manufacturing strategy.

With operations anticipated to begin in 2029, construction is underway, generating opportunities for companies involved in building materials, engineering, equipment, logistics and specialized manufacturing.

Large industrial investments require sophisticated networks of suppliers, contractors, service providers and skilled workers. These networks rarely exist within a single municipality. Instead, they connect businesses across communities and industries, creating opportunities for companies to diversify, innovate and expand.

Norbec's contract is a tangible example of those connections taking shape.

A Middlesex County Investment Comes Full Circle

Norbec's story in Middlesex County began with an investment inquiry to the County's Economic Development team.

Headquartered in Boucherville, Quebec, the Canadian-owned manufacturer was seeking a location for its first Ontario production facility. After reportedly evaluating more than 100 potential sites across Canada and the United States, Norbec selected Strathroy-Caradoc.

Norbec Panels

Working collaboratively, Middlesex County, the Municipality of Strathroy-Caradoc and provincial partners supported the company's investment and development process.

The result was a $45 million, 156,000-square-foot advanced manufacturing facility that opened in September 2024. Located near Highway 402, the highly automated plant was established to serve construction markets throughout Ontario and the U.S. Midwest, creating approximately 70 local jobs.

At the time, the investment represented an important addition to Middlesex County's manufacturing sector, strengthening local employment and industrial capacity. Today, its significance extends further.

As Simon Hogervorst, Plant Director at Norbec, explained:

"Strathroy-Caradoc was a natural choice for us. It provided us proximity to larger city centres like Sarnia and London, with a skilled workforce with history in the manufacturing industry.

Throughout the construction period of the facility, we were lucky to get government support as well as great support from Middlesex County and Strathroy-Caradoc with the building, permitting and construction process."

Norbec's experience demonstrates that the benefits of investment attraction do not end when a facility opens. They continue as companies establish relationships, develop new markets and secure contracts.

"We're incredibly proud to see Norbec securing major supply contracts right here in Southwestern Ontario," says Cara Finn, Director of Economic Development for Middlesex County. "When the company chose to invest in Strathroy-Caradoc, we recognized the tremendous potential it brought to our manufacturing sector. Seeing that investment translate into opportunities to contribute to a project of PowerCo's scale is especially rewarding. It's a great example of how the success of one business can strengthen economic opportunities across our entire region."

Building an Ecosystem, Not Just Attracting Investment

Attracting a major employer is an achievement. Creating the conditions for investments to connect, complement one another and generate additional economic activity is where the longer-term value of regional economic development becomes apparent.

Southwestern Ontario's manufacturing strength has been built over generations. Automotive production, advanced manufacturing, agriculture and agri-food processing, logistics, automation and specialized industrial services have created a diverse foundation of businesses, infrastructure and skilled talent.

Increasingly, opportunities within these sectors are intersecting.

Automotive investments create demand for advanced materials, precision manufacturing and industrial automation. Food processing facilities require specialized equipment, packaging technologies and logistics. Battery manufacturing generates opportunities in construction, engineering, energy systems and advanced materials.

A manufacturer established to serve one industry may discover opportunities in another. An international investor may find that much of the expertise it requires already exists in neighbouring communities. The opportunity is not simply to attract more investment, but to help investments reinforce one another.

That requires understanding existing business capabilities, identifying gaps in regional supply chains and connecting investors with the expertise, infrastructure and workforce needed to succeed.

SOMA: The Competitive Advantage of Regional Collaboration

A collaborative approach is central to the Southwestern Ontario Marketing Alliance (SOMA), through which economic development organizations across Elgin, Middlesex, Oxford and Perth counties promote the region as an internationally competitive investment destination.

Rather than presenting municipalities as isolated destinations, SOMA highlights the region's collective strengths: strategic transportation corridors, established manufacturing capabilities, available employment lands, skilled workers and access to North American markets.

Companies evaluating major manufacturing investments consider much more than an individual property. They assess access to suppliers, transportation infrastructure, workforce capabilities, research institutions and opportunities for future expansion.

Through coordinated international outreach, shared intelligence and collaborative investment support, SOMA partners can present a more complete picture of what Southwestern Ontario offers.

Each municipality brings distinct assets and opportunities. Together, those complementary strengths create a more compelling investment proposition.

Regional collaboration does not diminish the significance of individual municipal investments. It enhances their potential.

"The PowerCo investment represents an extraordinary opportunity, not just for St. Thomas, but for the entire Southwestern Ontario manufacturing ecosystem," says Sean Dyke, CEO of the St. Thomas Economic Development Corporation and SOMA President. "Seeing companies like Norbec, located in neighbouring communities, become part of this project demonstrates the strength of our regional supply chains. Through SOMA, we work collaboratively to showcase those collective capabilities, attract new investment and create opportunities that benefit businesses and communities throughout the region."

A major investment in St. Thomas can create opportunities for manufacturers in Middlesex County and beyond. Likewise, new industrial capacity established in Middlesex County can strengthen the regional supply chain available to future investors. Norbec's role in the PowerCo project illustrates that relationship.

Creating the Conditions for Continued Growth

For Middlesex County, successful economic development means working with local municipalities, neighbouring communities, industry and government partners to strengthen investment readiness and support business growth.

This includes advancing employment lands readiness, improving economic intelligence, facilitating business connections and helping investors navigate opportunities across the region.

The County's location along the Highway 401 and 402 corridors provides access to major Canadian and U.S. markets. Combined with established manufacturing expertise and proximity to post-secondary institutions, these advantages provide a strong foundation for continued industrial growth.

Equally important are the partnerships that help businesses turn those advantages into opportunities. By working collaboratively across municipal boundaries, economic development organizations can help create the conditions for investment to succeed, established businesses to grow and new supply chain relationships to emerge.

When Investments Connect, Regions Grow

The relationship between Norbec's Strathroy-Caradoc facility and PowerCo's St. Thomas gigafactory demonstrates how regional economies become stronger.

One investment establishes manufacturing capacity. Another creates demand. Businesses respond, supply chains expand and new economic opportunities emerge.

For Middlesex County and its Southwestern Ontario partners, the objective is not simply to compete for the next major investment announcement. It is to build upon investments already made, support the businesses that have chosen to grow here and position the region to capture the opportunities that follow.

Through partnerships such as SOMA, communities are demonstrating that regional collaboration is not just an investment attraction strategy. It is a means of building a stronger, more connected and more resilient manufacturing economy.

Norbec chose Strathroy-Caradoc to serve Ontario and U.S. Midwest construction markets. Two years later, it is supplying Canada’s largest battery plant, a German investment in a neighbouring community. That is what regional collaboration looks like when it works.

PowerCo and the gigafactory

Norbec

SOMA