In the vibrant, rapidly growing city of Barrie, ON, strategic investment and talent-driven innovation have defined the last decade, setting the stage for this next period of growth.

This mid-sized urban community on the shores of Lake Simcoe, less than 100km north of Toronto, is projected to more than double its population by 2051. It has also become one of Ontario’s hottest markets for industrial and commercial development.

“Barrie has grown into a bit of a hotbed of automation,” says Brad Parcher, CEO of Prodomax, one of North America’s largest industrial automation companies.

“The quality of life is excellent, and we’re a fixture here. I couldn’t see logically moving somewhere else.”

Last year alone, the city issued more than 2,400 building permits valued at more than $1 billion. World-class companies are choosing to relocate and expand here, taking advantage of competitive tax rates, highly skilled labour and robust transportation infrastructure.

That’s very much the case at Prodomax, a company founded in Barrie in 1971 and now part of the global Jenoptik Group. They design, manufacture and supply industrial automation technology to an international clientele largely made up of auto parts manufacturers.

“The location is very good for us,” says Parcher, who oversees two state-of-the-art Prodomax facilities in Barrie with a combined 148,000 square feet of space.

“It’s great for families, and it has kind of a smaller-town feel to it,” he says. “There’s a pretty good industrial supply base here in Barrie. We can get most of our machining done here in town [with other local companies]. We share suppliers, and we do work with each other.”

Barrie’s proximity to the United States border has been a key strategic advantage for companies like Prodomax, which exports nearly all its products. The 400 series of highways also provide easy access to the Greater Toronto Area and virtually any other market in North America via an interconnected road, rail and air transportation network.

Toronto Pearson Airport is only a short drive, and Lake Simcoe Regional Airport in the outskirts of Barrie is one of Ontario’s newest and well-positioned regional airport facilities accommodating international passengers and freight — ideal for private executive travel, receiving clients and weekend getaways, with no land-based gridlock to contend with.

The steady supply of highly skilled workers from Georgian College in Barrie and neighbouring Lakehead University has also been vital to many companies’ success. And employees who relocate to Barrie tend to stay there long-term.

“We’ve got a very close relationship with Georgian College,” says Parcher. “It’s a good supply of skilled labour. If you were a little further away, you wouldn’t have that advantage.”

Similar thoughts are shared at Canplas Industries, another Barrie success story and a global leader in the construction plastics industry.

Canplas employs about 250 people and has two locations in Barrie — a head office and warehousing facility, plus a large manufacturing plant that is currently expanding.

“Barrie has a good employee base to draw from, and the employee retention rates are good,” says John Spagnoletti, plant manager at Canplas.

“[It’s] a city with a very good location, geographically, to service our major customers,” he says. “Canplas completed a major expansion to the manufacturing site in 2018 and another is in progress for 2023. An expansion is also planned at the Barrie Distribution Center in 2023. Canplas is making long term investments to stay in Barrie.”

The city’s robust manufacturing sector is complemented by a growing healthcare, research, manufacturing and health technology ecosystem, thanks in part to Royal Victoria Regional Health Centre and the nursing program at Georgian College.

“The strength of Barrie’s economy is its sectoral diversity,” says Stephannie Schlichter, director of Invest Barrie at the City of Barrie.

There is a wealth of success stories coming out of Barrie including the medical manufacturer Southmedic, the non-profit care provider SE Health, and White Toque, a fast-growing cybersecurity firm.

“As much as Barrie is growing, there’s still that tight-knit, supportive business community,” says Schlichter. “We’ve got a whole entrepreneurial network that has connections to mentorship programs, access to resources, and interconnectivity within the community to support growth.”

The city is more than ready for the next wave of business investment. Barrie has a growing workforce and young talent base – the city’s median age is just 39.2 years – combined with available industrial and commercial land and space.

“The time is now,” says Schlichter. “You will be able to influence and be part of the fabric of this community as it grows, and I think that is a really unique opportunity.”

For more information about economic development opportunities in Barrie, visit investbarrie.ca

This story was created by Content Works, Postmedia’s commercial content division, on behalf of Invest Barrie.