MISSISSAUGA, Ontario — Guide Woodworking is investing nearly $300,000 in a new machining centre at its Mississauga facilities with support of nearly $75,000 from the Ontario Together Fund. The investment will help the company gain the capacity to design and produce about 500 acrylic protective barriers each month for workplaces, including reception areas and service counters.
Supporting innovative projects like Guide Woodworking’s is why Ontario has invested an additional $50 million in the renewed Ontario Together Fund in 2021–22. The fund will continue to support local innovators and businesses to further enhance Ontario’s domestic supply chain capacity, promote Ontario’s MedTech ecosystem and build up our manufacturing sector to ensure the province is well-prepared for future challenges.
The renewed Ontario Together Fund is focused on supporting homegrown manufacturing and innovation to combat COVID-19 and providing other goods critical to the health, safety, and security of Ontarians beyond this pandemic. It is doing so under the following strategic pillars:
- Strengthening Ontario’s domestic manufacturing capacity
- Supporting homegrown technologies and innovative solutions
- Strengthening Ontario’s MedTech ecosystem.
“Through the Ontario Together Fund, our government is making targeted investments in domestic manufacturers with the ideas and solutions to help us through this pandemic,” said Vic Fedeli, minister of economic development, job creation and trade. “Guide Woodworking and their new capacity to make acrylic protective barriers is another example of Ontario innovation at its very best. Ontario manufacturers continue to enhance our resilience to any challenge while strengthening our economy.”
Guide Woodworking is a family-owned and operated manufacturing business that specializes in supplying, manufacturing and installing architectural millwork solutions such as security desks, customer service areas and transaction counters.
“As a small to medium size manufacturer in Ontario, it is vital that we pursue cutting-edge technology and effective processes through investment in our production development. The COVID-19 pandemic applied a very difficult strain on our business, and we are grateful for the government of Ontario’s initiative regarding the Ontario Together Fund with respect to helping businesses like ours rise to the occasion,” said Bass Jubran, operations manager at Guide Woodworking. “By partnering with them through this program, we were able to upgrade our establishment to more efficiently deliver the products that are needed today, namely increasing our ability and capacity to manufacture the types of components and protective barriers that people rely on.”
“This funding is a true testament to our government’s commitment to help local businesses support the community,” said Deepak Anand, MPP for Mississauga-Malton. “Thank you to Mississauga-Malton businesses for stepping up during COVID-19 and showcasing the Ontario Spirit. This investment will be used to produce Made-In-Ontario goods and protect Ontario families during this critical time.”
Healthy people are essential for a healthy economy. With vaccine distribution continuing to increase, hope is on the horizon. Ontario’s Action Plan: Protecting People’s Health and Our Economy provides the resources necessary to finish the battle with COVID-19, building on the government’s record investments to protect health and jobs during the global pandemic.
