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www.oakvillebeaver.com · OAKVILLE BEAVER Wednesday, April 14, 2010 · 2 Nuclear industry firm expands into Oakville By Dominik Kurek OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF In an effort to expand its operations, a Canadian nuclear technology engineering and manufacturing firm has changed addresses, moving right into Oakville. Promation Engineering Ltd. moved to town in January to a facility nearly three times larger than its former Mississauga location. And with a $2.7 million loan from Ottawa, the company has developed a five-year plan to increase business and hire more employees. "We're recognized by our government as a leading company in the nuclear industry," said Promation president Mark Zimny. He was speaking to more than 100 industry representatives, who attended an open house at Promation's new Global Technical Center of Excellence last Thursday. Promation currently has 82 employees, nearly a dozen of whom are as a result of its recent expansion, and Zimny hopes the company will have a total of 35 new workers by the end of the five-year plan aimed at doubling its business operations. The engineering company designs NIKKI WESLEY / OAKVILLE BEAVER NEW HOME: Taking a tour of Promation Engineering Ltd.'s new Oakville facility are (l-r) Promation President Mark Zimny, Oakville MPP Kevin Flynn, and Dr. Neil Alexander, president of the Organization of CANDU Industries (OCI) during the Promation Engineering Ltd. celebration of its new Global Technical Center of Excellence with expanded operations to serve the global nuclear industry. and manufactures products such as reactor components, robotics and test rigs among many others and provides a wide range of services including engineering, testing and system assembly. And one of its numerous clients is Atomic Energy of Canada Limited (AECL), a federally-owned corporation that manages Canada's nuclear energy research and development programs. AECL also designed and makes the CANDU (CANada Deuterium Uranium) reactors and technology. There are currently 29 CANDU reactors being used around the world. Neil Alexander, president of the Organization of CANDU Industries (OCI), who spoke at the gathering, said Canada is one of the world leaders in the nuclear industry. "We were the second nation in the world to control a fission (nuclear) reaction," he said. "We are seventh in the world in terms of how much nuclear electricity that we produce. Ontario, in particular, has one of the lowest carbon dioxide emissions per kilowatt of electricity we are producing." He added that 10 per cent of nuclear reactors in the world are working on a Canadian design. He also noted Canada has a large nuclear industry workforce with some 70,000 people employed in Canada in the industry, which includes workers in supply chain, operators and organizations such as AECL. He added the industry has brought talented scientists into the country and is one of the reasons his own family moved to Canada. Oakville MPP Kevin Flynn also spoke at the event. He noted that his own family, like Alexander's, moved to Canada for its nuclear industry and that his father helped build both the Bruce and Pickering power plants. "It's wonderful to see an Ontario company expanding, that has a future ahead of it, it's bright and it's moving on," Flynn said. "While many manufacturing firms in Ontario have gone through some tough times in recent years and they're suffering, I know that this company, Promation, was expanding. It expanded in spite of the uncertainty in the nuclear industry." He also added that this is a perfect time for Canada to rebuild its reputation in the nuclear industry. Mayor Rob Burton, who also spoke at the event, thanked Promation for making its move into Oakville. "The advanced manufacturing sector is one of our targets in our unanimously adopted economic development plan and it's always good to see a play come true. It's one thing to have a plan, it's quite another to deliver it." There were other notable speakers and guests at the event including members of AECL and other elected officials. Promation is currently celebrating its 15th year in business. For more information, visit www.promationnuclear.com.