Manufacturing sectors in eastern Ontario are varied and vibrant. There are many manufacturing sectors in the eastern Ontario region: technical textiles manufacturers, electronics, wood manufacturing, pharmaceuticals, and machinery manufacturing, just to name a few. From food processing to personal care products, in this article we’re highlighting what the region has to offer in diverse manufacturing careers.

Manufacturing Sectors in Eastern Ontario That Are Thriving

1. The Business of Food 

Food Processing is the business of turning fresh farm produce into food, or turning one kind of food into another. It can be simple, such as grinding grain to make flour, or it can be more complex, like using fruits and vegetables to make jams and sauces. It also includes industrial-scale methods of making processed food.

Food processing is an incredibly important industry in eastern Ontario because it gives us the food we shop for every day. The eastern Ontario region is filled with farmland that provides food processors - like those who use commercial food centres like Ontario Agri-food Venture Centre (OAFVC) - with the natural products they need to make their food stuffs. Glengarry Fine Cheese, for instance, uses fresh milk from a local farm across the road from their facility, allowing them to make their artisanal cheeses while supporting the local dairy industry.

2. The Business of Signs 

Signage Manufacturing is an industry that creates signs and symbols to communicate messages to specific groups. Signage is an extremely important part of our everyday life. Everywhere we go we see signs and symbols giving us information or trying to convince us to purchase something. Signage ranges from street signs to traffic signs, billboards and murals, and digital displays as well.

Maximum Signs is a company that serves corporations, smaller companies and the municipal government by creating signs needed in eastern Ontario, and in the rest of Canada. The company produces signs out of steel and other heavy materials, uses digital image machines to get the symbols on the signs just right, and operates presses to create the exact size and shape of the signs needed. Maximum Signs builds its signs to last and is 3M certified every year, meaning the company meets health and safety requirements before its signs leave the plant.

3. The Business of Electronics

Electronic Manufacturing began in the 20th century and is now one of the largest global industries. We use a large array of electronic products that help us with all our simple tasks, every day. From making coffee in the morning in our coffee makers to checking our text messages on our cellphones, electronic products are everywhere.

Because of the ever increasing consumer demand for electronics, the market is expanding. SigmaPoint, in eastern Ontario, helps Canada’s electronics market stay competitive through prototyping services that encourage manufacturers to stay onshore rather than going offshore to meet their parts needs. By providing local companies with the electronic parts they need, faster, SigmaPoint helps companies in eastern Ontario and Canada meet the local and national consumer demand.

4. The Business of Chemicals

Chemical Manufacturing is a large industry that converts raw materials, such as oil, gas, air, water, metals and minerals, into the over 70,000 chemicals we use commercially every day. The industry transforms raw materials into essential products we’ve come to rely on, such as detergents, soaps and perfumes.

Evonik in eastern Ontario makes hydrogen peroxide in a large facility in Maitland. The markets it serves include water treatment, electronics, soil remediation, and mining. Enovik manufactures its chemicals in a green facility using sustainable methods.

5. The Business of Personal Care 

Personal Care Products Manufacturing makes items that maintain or increase one’s physical appearance and personal hygiene. The industry produces soaps, deodorants, bath products, lotions and makeup. These are products we use every day - often before we leave the house in the morning - and throughout the day, relying on them to improve our personal well-being. 

The Green Beaver Company in eastern Ontario creates 86 natural products that it sells directly online and to retailers across Canada. Its products are natural and organic, offering new and healthier options in personal care.

Procter & Gamble, also located in eastern Ontario, provides us with a myriad of household products we use every day: Tide, Gain, and Dove, to name only a few.

More Trends in Eastern Ontario’s Manufacturing Sector 

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