Northern Abrasives, an associated company to Abrasive Enterprises, will construct new production and packaging space in the Summerside Business Park. The company has been outsourcing its production to Abrasive Enterprises since it was established in 1997. Abrasive Enterprises offered converting and packaging services to Northern Abrasives, but has since grown large enough that now the company no longer has excess capacity, allowing Northern Abrasives to construct its own operation.
“The province of Prince Edward Island is committed to building a vibrant business community by supporting new ideas that promote economic growth and generate employment for Islanders,” said the Honourable Michael F. Currie, Minister of Development and Technology. “Major Paul Grady has achieved great success with his existing company, Abrasive Enterprises, and with the construction of Northern’s new production space, the companies can work simultaneously to reach new levels of success.”
Northern Abrasives will be able to employ four people as a result of this new facility.
“It is management’s expectation to increase Northern’s distribution channels through Canadian hardware retail chains,” said President, Major Paul Grady. “The company has built an excellent relationship with Princess Auto and recently was the only Canadian vendor/partner to receive the Royal Service Award from this major Canadian mail order company.”
Grady said the company intends to extend this model to other retail chains with upgraded production and packaging equipment. “We credit the support of provincial government for this expansion opportunity,” added Grady.
Retail abrasive sales in Canada exceed $20 million per year. Northern Abrasives supplies various abrasive material to the woodworking and metal working sectors. The company converts large rolls of abrasive, which are purchased at a discount, into products required by the end user. The new packaging will be blister packs and clamshell packs.
Northern Abrasives will purchase and install equipment to convert and package their products. Prince Edward Island Business Development provided $20,250 under its Development Fund towards the development of the new production facility. The total cost of the project is approximately $80,000.