County of BRANT County of Brant, Ontario

County of BRANT Ontario A great quality of life

he County of Brant, located in the Onondaga, and Scotland. logistics. The result of this focus has been Province of Ontario, has a population Brant sits on the outer, western ring of the impressive, particularly when combined with of close to 40,000 people and is locat- Greater Area (GTA). Given Brant’s the County’s helpful pro-business programs ed approximately 60 miles southwest easy access via a major four-lane highway and initiatives. Tof Toronto. In 1999, a host of towns and commu- system to the American border, plus a mu- “We offer low development charges, low nities organized under one level of government nicipal airport that can accommodate small taxation rates, and a comfortable style of to form the present-day County of Brant. The to medium sized corporate jets, the County conducting business,” says Michael Buranyi, most highly populated areas in Brant are Paris, has placed tremendous focus on attracting Brant’s Economic Development Officer. “We St. George, and Burford. Smaller communities and developing the types of industries that have a very strong, focused, and proactive within the municipality include Cainsville, Falk- best suit its location and available workforce. management team, and Council, that work land, Glen Morris, Harley, Langford, Middleport, These include heavy manufacturing, ad- with the business community and interests Mount Pleasant, New Durham, Newport, Oakland, vanced manufacturing, and warehousing and that are looking to invest in the area. Over County of Brant, Ontario

is in the community of Paris, a town of about 12,000 that sits on the confluence of the Grand and Nith Rivers. Paris was first settled in 1829 and officially established as a town in 1850. It was named for the nearby deposits of gypsum, used to make plaster of Paris. Once called ‘The Cobblestone Capital of Canada’ because of its number of aged cobblestone houses, Par- is’ downtown has responded to the County’s growth with what Emerson calls, “a fairly signif- there’s a bunch more on the books. So, we’re icant resurgence. I see higher-end restaurants, seeing an increased vibrancy of the downtown higher-end specialty clothing and jewelry stores core. And it’s going to look a lot different five going in,” he relates. “There’s a small conference years from now as some of these condo devel- center. A number of the older buildings are be- opments come on and some of these stores ing torn down or completely re-purposed with continue to revitalize themselves. It’s really high-end retail and condominium living. And dramatic. It’s amazing what’s happened in the

The largest custom the last five years, we’ve exceeded two million the entire country of Canada and decided that open-die forging company square feet of new and expanded buildings in this would be a good location for their national in Canada and a leader the County. As a result, more than 1,600 direct distribution center,” says Emerson. “And there in the global market. jobs have been created.” are many other industries that “So, we’re starting to really AT A GLANCE are locating or expanding here experience some fairly rapid County of – Tigercat Industries, being one. growth,” adds Paul Emerson, Chief They compete, head-on, with Administrative Officer. “We’ve Brant, Ontario Caterpillar and John Deere and seen a lot of change in the last WHAT: A county of 40,000 have a good share of the for- Patriot Forge is recognized globally as a supplier of five years and we anticipate a WHERE: Approximately 60 estry equipment marketplace. forged and further processed components destined miles southwest of Toronto lot more to come. There’s a lot of They just looked at this loca- for critical applications. With the recent investments interest from various businesses tion to do a fairly significant in our and Paris, Ontario facilities we have WEBSITE: www.brant.ca looking to relocate.” expansion.” Emerson adds that significantly increased both capability and capacity to support the evolving needs of our customers. Some major firms have al- another new business park for ready made the move to the County’s new busi- the County is on the drawing boards. Brantford, Ontario, Canada: Toll Free 1-877-495-9542 n 519-758-8100 n www.patriotforge.com ness park. “For example, Adidas looked around Meanwhile, Brant’s main business district County of Brant, Ontario

Enterprises (BME) is to look at opportunities that will provide some revenue in areas that will also enhance environmental sustainabil- ity and economic growth.” One of those areas is green, renewable energy. “They have a fairly large solar portfolio that they’ve developed in partnership with the private sector and the community, nearby,” says Emerson. “That’s been quite successful and it’s helped to reduce our carbon footprint and at the same time it’s provided a good source of revenue to the municipality. They’re also looking at hydro- electric generation and have approvals from the Emerson continues. “The big players like Bell Province to conduct feasibility studies.” Canada and Rogers Communications are here, “The other area of business that Brant Munic- but by us getting into the fiber optics business, ipal Enterprises looked into was fiber optics,” we can provide that end-of-the-line fiber to

last five years.” Once again, the County’s pro-business agenda has helped. “The municipality has put money into, and authorized In addition to its the development of, a Community Improvement Plan for the welcoming business downtown core,” Emerson says. “That plan lays out the public climate, Brant County sector infrastructure – new lighting, more parking – but it also puts into place the framework for revitalization and allows us offers newcomers a to invoke certain financial instruments, for the businesses that wealth of natural meet certain criteria.” In addition, the government is offering beauty and diverse, grants of up to 50 percent of the cost of redoing store and Walters Inc. Princeton, Ontario Plant. cultural amenities. building façades. Walters Group o ers end-to-end solutions on And Emerson relates that the County itself has gone into complex steelwork projects across North America. business. “The County has been entrepreneurial in looking We recognize that the projects we contribute to are more than just projects. They change for new ways of doing business as a government entity landscapes. They support key industries. and established a municipal corporation that is able to They inspire people. act as one,” he explains. “The purpose of Brant Municipal @waltersgroupinc

Brant Business View 2016 v2.indd 1 2016-12-21 3:38 PM County of Brant, Ontario

Preferred vendors n Patriot Forge machinery. The company has two loca- www.patriotforge.com tions in Canada – Brantford and Paris, Ontario. Patriot Forge, founded in 2001, is an ISO 9002 registered manufacturer n Davis Fuels of open-die and seamless rolled ring www.davisfuels.ca forgings, specializing in critical compo- nents for the power generation, military, n Walters Group nuclear, valve, and speciality industrial www.waltersgroupinc.com

various businesses that Rogers and Bell maybe In addition to its welcoming business climate, he states. “In the social infrastructure, I see all Mayor, Ron Eddy, agrees: “The Council of the haven’t gotten to yet. We also provide redun- Emerson stresses that Brant County offers new- kinds of people being attracted to this com- County of Brant is extremely pleased to be a dant services, so if the one service provider comers a wealth of natural beauty and diverse, munity - accomplished, creative people. And it’s growing and progressing municipality with the goes down, they’ve got the backup. So, we’ve cultural amenities. “We have the largest wa- manifesting itself in all kinds of different ways ability to improve operations and expansion of been able to do that. It’s been an important tool tershed – the Grand River system – that meets – concerts and lecture series; stuff that nobody facilities and services for the convenience and for economic development and the businesses with its major tributary in downtown Paris. So even thought about five years ago. It’s an excit- enjoyment of our citizens.” An exciting place to that locate here.” there are great valleys, natural areas, and trails,” ing place to live. It’s got a great quality of life.” live, indeed. www.brant.ca

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