Abbotsford may be renowned for agriculture, but a tour of some of our local manufacturers emphasized that we’re not just expert growers, we’re also expert builders.
Earlier this month, several members of City Council, including Mayor Siemens and Councillors Barkman, Driessen, Loewen, Ross and Warkentin, participated in the inaugural Manufacturing Bus Tour presented by the City of Abbotsford and the Abbotsford Chamber of Commerce. The day-long event featured stops at BARR Plastics, RAD Torque Tools, Reimer Hardwoods and StructureCraft. A networking lunch was served in the hangar at Chinook Helicopters.
At all of the stops, City Council learned about the history of each business and got a closer look at the products and projects that they produce. At RAD Torque Tools, we saw how they make their patented tools from start to finish; at Reimer Hardwoods, we learned about the variety of wood they have in stock and their characteristics; at StructureCraft, we gained valuable insight into their unique and eye-catching designs; and at BARR Plastics, we were shown their vast supply of products used for rainwater harvesting, stormwater management, wastewater treatment, chemical handling and food processing.
As a City Council, we are proud of Abbotsford’s diverse and vibrant economy, and manufacturing is a big part of that. Manufacturing is also one of our largest employers, with more than 200 business providing more than 8,000 stable, well-paying jobs in our community.
Visiting these businesses gave all of us helpful insights into the importance of our manufacturing sector and how we can help them to continue to grow and thrive, like advocating the Province to widen Highway 1 and allow us to open a small amount of our underutilized but strategically located agricultural land for industrial development around Abbotsford International Airport and east of Gloucester industrial area.
Supporting our manufacturing sector is important as it supports so many other sectors including transportation and logistics; construction; maintenance, repair and overhaul; business and professional services; and industrial retail. When our manufacturers succeed, they lift our entire economy up.
Abbotsford City Council