Tube-Fab Limited has now completed the expansion to its West Royalty facility. The lease has been signed for the second half of the expansion in Summerside and renovations have already begun. The Slemon Park facility is set to begin operations this spring.
When it was announced in June of 1999, the project was to create a total of 80 additional jobs in Charlottetown and Summerside. To date, Tube-Fab is on schedule, having already hired 40 people in Charlottetown, and are set to begin hiring 40 more people for the Summerside facility.
Tube-Fab Ltd. manufactures precision machined products for the aerospace and medical industries. One of its major contracts involves supplying a hospital bed manufacturer with hydraulic actuators and machined components of aerospace quality for the production of advanced medical beds.
Today, Chairman of Tube-Fab, Kirk Foley, provided the Honourable Don MacKinnon, Minister of Development with a plant tour of the expanded West Royalty facility.
"We have some new technology here at Tube-Fab that is unique to Atlantic Canada," said Foley. "These advances give Tube-Fab a competitive advantage in shipping finished parts to the aerospace and medical industries."
The new technology includes a machine that smooths out metal components by exploding off rough surfaces from the finished piece. As well, Tube-Fab has introduced a new way to coat finished parts, giving them a permanent finish that is more resistant to corrosion. Both processes are extremely efficient.
To encourage Islanders to consider the aerospace industry as a viable career choice, Kirk Foley announced a $1,000 scholarship for a high school student to take the precision machining course at Holland College this September. Minister Don MacKinnon, matched the scholarship for another Island student.
"I hope this investment in students will encourage bright young Islanders to get the training needed to work either with Tube-Fab or one of the other world class aerospace companies on PEI," said Foley.
Tube-Fab Ltd. expanded its current location in the West Royalty Industrial Park by 7,000 square feet to accommodate additional machining equipment required to produce the new components. In Slemon Park, a 15,000 square foot area is being renovated to house the product development, assembly, testing and warehousing operations.
Details on the scholarships for aerospace training can be obtained from Holland College at (902) 888-6730.