Wayne Linkletter, President of Linkletter's Welding Ltd, provided a tour of his expanded manufacturing facility as Wayne Easter, Member of Parliament for Malpeque, and the Honourable Mike Currie, Minister of Development and Technology, stopped by the Central Bedeque plant. Linkletter also shared the details of yet another expansion this growing company is undertaking.
Linkletter Welding completed a 10,000 square foot expansion last fall and has already started working on an additional 10,000 square feet which should be completed later this year.
With over 30 years of experience under its belt, Linkletter's Welding has increased its focus on export markets in recent years – a change that has led to more contracts for the family-owned operation. As a result of off-Island marketing efforts, Linkletter's Welding has established some key business connections and new manufacturing contracts. Recent contracts include receiving orders to produce twenty trailers for the Toronto region and 300 trailers for the US region.
"ACOA is committed to supporting Island businesses, like Linkletter's Welding, who work hard to expand their operations in order to serve Islanders and to pursue new export markets," said Wayne Easter, Member of Parliament for Malpeque, on behalf of the Honourable Gerry Byrne, Minister of State for the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency (ACOA). "This kind of initiative can only strengthen our economy, and I would like to congratulate Linkletter's Welding on its current and future successes."
"Linkletter's Welding has served Prince Edward Island's agricultural and processing industry for years and is showing great vision by exploring opportunities in off-Island markets," said Minister Currie. "This company offers the service and quality it takes to succeed in new markets and I'm expecting that this will not be the last expansion Linkletter's Welding experiences."
With new contracts comes the need for new staff. This past year alone, Linkletter's has added 10 new staff members, bringing the total number of employees to 55. Linkletter attributes much of the company's success to his dedicated staff members.
"No matter what the business is, it comes down to people, and if you have good people, your business can grow," said Linkletter.
Linkletter also credits his Prince Edward Island location and customer base for the company's success. The company's focus on export markets is largely related to the changing climate of the province's agricultural community.
"When my father started this business in 1969, there were two thousand farmers in Prince Edward Island and now there are five hundred," noted Linkletter. "While the number of farmed acres is going up, the number of farmers is decreasing, so we had to expand into new markets and new products in order to keep growing."
Linkletter Welding houses a complete welding fabrication shop, parts counter, hydraulics shop and a trailer manufacturing facility. The company also has a mobile shop at a local food processing facility.
For its latest expansion, ACOA provided a $225,500 repayable contribution through its Business Development Program, and the provincial Department of Development and Technology provided a $50,000 grant through PEI Business Development as well as marketing assistance.
Photo available on web site