NEWS BRIEFS (March 01, 2009)

Auto supplier Axiom Group Inc. is adding 95 jobs and boosting production as it begins injection molding a proprietary airflow circulation exhauster. The Aurora, Ont.-based company received a $2.4 million grant from the Ontario Next Generation of Jobs Fund to assist in financing and development of the part.

Polymer manufacturer Rehau Inc. has recommenced its PVC pipe extrusion operations at its plant in Prescott, Ont. as part of an arrangement to supply material to Canadian distributor Distribution Brunet Inc. in Lvis, Que. Leesburg, Va.-based Rehau had nearly closed the Prescott plant last fall. According to Rehau, workers are now being rehired at the Prescott plant, which had remained open with a skeleton crew to deliver pipe to customers. The Prescott plant will recover 20 of the 40 jobs that were eliminated last fall.

Humber College Institute of Technology and Advanced Learning has closed its Canadian Plastics Training Centre (CPTC). The closure is due to the downturn in the plastics industry, according to David Alcock, Associate Dean, School of Applied Technology at Humber College. The CPTC was created in 1993 as a partnership between the Canadian Plastics Industry Association and Humber College, with the support of the Ontario Federation of Labour. Over the last 15 years, more than 500 students have graduated from full time plastics programs and more than 1,000 employees have received training in plastics processing through the CPTC.

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Auto parts manufacturer DDM Plastics, of Tillsonburg, Ont., has announced an indefinite shutdown. The latest cuts affect between 140 and 160 workers. The announcement follows on the heels of 460 layoffs that took effect on Jan. 1. Employees received notice of the layoffs in October. Just last year, DDM was the town’s largest employer with over 600 workers.

Canadian auto supplier Magna International Inc., based in Aurora, Ont., has signed a deal to buy the European operations of Cadence Innovation LLC, acquiring three injection molding and mold making plants in the Czech Republic and one in Hungary. The four plants reported sales of approximately US$369 million in 2007, and will operate as part of Magna’s Decoma group. The companies did not disclose a purchase price.

The Ontario government has announced that it’s helping an innovative auto supplier in Kitchener, Ont. invest in new technology. The technological investment will help the company boost productivity while reducing its impact on the environment. The province will invest $1.5 million in Mitchell Plastics, supporting the company’s total investment of $10 million, and helping create 32 new jobs at the company. “This project will help us broaden our capabilities and allows us to provide the lowest cost to our customers while adding skilled positions to our Ontario workforce,” said company president and chief executive officer Joe D’Angelo.