Drill maker set to expand again.

• Author: Stewart, Nick
• Position: SPECIAL REPORT: MINING

A hot international mining market has meant big business for many industry suppliers, including North Bay's Rotacan, which is months away from completing the construction of a new 30,000-square-foot facility on the property it shares with parent company J.N. Precise.

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Rampant international demand for its proprietary rotary blast hole drill bits has found Rotacan finally ready to cast out into its own dedicated facility after spending four years sharing increasingly cramped quarters with its parent firm.

"We've outgrown the facility we have right now," says Ken Perrin, operations manager for J.N. Precise and Rotacan.

"Markets are extremely buoyant for us. We feel we could sell an awful lot more product, not only in the geographical areas where we're selling now, but in other parts of the world, so we need to up the platform size for production."

With a price tag of "several million dollars," the new plant began construction last fall, and work has continued on the facility throughout the winter. It is now half complete, with the walls and roofing having recently been finished. Local contractor Kenelex is currently working with various sub-contractors to see to the installation of plumbing, electricity and various other internal systems in anticipation of occupying the site within the next three months.

Through the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund Corporation, the provincial government is also lending a hand with the project by providing the company with a $1.5 million interest-free loan for three years. Intense supply and demand in the mining sector means that both companies are working at full capacity in the 76,000 square foot facility. In order for either firm to expand further, a new facility is needed.

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