Brenda Bailey was delighted after workers at Ron Anderson & Sons Ltd. put together a prefabricated wood-frame home in 30 minutes.
Bailey, B.C.’s Minister of Jobs, Economic Development and Innovation, visited the facility on River Road in Chemainus on April 25 to announce that the province is granting up to $2 million to the Chemainus-based wood-product manufacturer that builds and installs prefabricated wood-frame buildings for residential and commercial units.
The company is one of six capital projects and four planning projects on Vancouver Island that the province is funding up to $5 million through the BC Manufacturing Jobs Fund, which supports high-value industrial and manufacturing capital projects that will create and protect well-paying jobs.
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“This just blows my mind,” Bailey told the RAS workers when walking through the home that was in prefabricated parts just a half hour before.
“Funding through the BC Manufacturing Jobs Fund is very competitive, so the fact that you were selected shows the good work you do.”
The $2 million in funding that RAS will receive will be used for an expansion project that will use automation and advanced manufacturing to diversify the company’s products, including prefabricated floors, roof panels and stairs.
The company’s expansion plans, which will see the creation of a new plant on a site that already has a number of high-tech buildings full of state-of-the-art construction equipment, will create 35 new full-time jobs, increase its output and contribute to the province’s goal of increasing the supply of new housing and the speed of building through more efficient construction methods.
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Jack Downing, president and CEO of RAS, said the company is more than excited to be a recipient of the provincial funding.
“By expanding and modernizing our facility in Chemainus, we are not only creating new local jobs, but increasing supply and accelerating installation of much-needed wood-frame housing across B.C., efficiently and in a sustainable manner,” he said.
Bailey said the funding program is designed to help businesses like RAS grow.
“RAS makes the most with the [resources] they have more efficiently and with less waste to ensure we get the best and most use out of the logs from the forest,” she said.
“The company also provides high-paying jobs in small communities so workers don’t have to move to the city. We want to expand manufacturing in B.C. to provide more sustainable products and more jobs, and RAS does all that.”