In this episode, we learn how Ontario’s economic developers help attract, support, and retain major manufacturing investments in their communities. Our guest is Sean Dyke, the CEO of the St. Thomas Economic Development Corporation. St. Thomas is where PowerCo, a subsidiary of Volkswagen, decided to locate its $7 billion battery manufacturing plant—Canada’s largest greenfield manufacturing investment yet. This small city is also home to Formet Industries, a division of Magna International. Formet is Canada’s largest automotive parts manufacturing facility and the world’s largest automotive frame manufacturing plant. Tune in to find out how St. Thomas is being transformed into a hub for advanced manufacturing.

• 01:07 Introduction to Sean Dyke and St. Thomas
• 03:42 Why the Economic Developers Council of Ontario Matters
• 05:32 The Economic Development Career Path
• 07:32 St. Thomas’ Evolution Over the Past 20 Years
• 10:36 Why PowerCo Chose St. Thomas
• 13:05 What Happens After the Big Announcement
• 15:34 Secrecy Around Investment Attraction
• 18:00 Role in Workforce Development For PowerCo and Other Companies
• 21:19 Regional Approach to Economic Development
• 25:50 Importance of Magna to St. Thomas
• 26:24 An Exciting New Manufacturer: Element 5
• 28:39 Focus on Housing
• 29:55 St. Thomas’ Goals For Hannover Messe
• 31:41 Rapid Fire Questions

Find Out More About St. Thomas and PowerCo

• St. Thomas Economic Development Corporation website: st-thomas.org
• PowerCo website: powerco.ca
• PowerCo Careers: careers.powerco.de

Find Out More About Trillium

• Trillium website: trilliummfg.ca
• Trillium GIS: trilliumgis.ca
• LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/trilliummfg
• X/Twitter: x.com/TrilliumMfg
• Instagram: instagram.com/trilliummfg
• Facebook: facebook.com/trilliummfg
• Old ‘Making it in Ontario’ Episodes: https://soundcloud.com/making-it-in-ontario-past

About the Making it in Ontario Podcast

Making it in Ontario is your window into what's next in manufacturing. Ontario’s economy depends on manufacturing, but the latest research reveals concerning trends that could undermine the sector’s strength—if we don’t address them. Join us as we talk to CEOs and other leaders at the forefront of the sector about productivity, strategy, talent markets and career opportunities, and the role of manufacturing in a prosperous and sustainable future.

This podcast is an initiative of the Trillium Network for Advanced Manufacturing. It is produced by Storied Places Media.

Welcome to Making it in Ontario, your window into what's next in

2

Ontario's manufacturing sector from the

data driven researchers at the Trillium

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Network for Advanced Manufacturing.

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I'm Michelle Samson.

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Brendan Sweeney: And I'm Brendan Sweeney.

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Michelle Samson: Brendan, right now,

as this episode is being published,

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we are in Toronto at the Economic

Developers Council of Ontario Conference.

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Brendan Sweeney: Yeah.

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It's amazing that we can be

doing this podcast and be at

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the conference at the same time.

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It's just, it blows my mind.

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We're really, I mean, we're

really efficient about that.

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Michelle Samson: With

the magic of technology.

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Brendan Sweeney: Yeah.

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Amazing.

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It's the first week of February, so

it means it's the EDCO conference,

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and it means three days of fun

in downtown Toronto with all our

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favorite economic developers.

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And Michelle, you're an

economic developer...

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Michelle Samson: Mm hmm.

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Brendan Sweeney: Apparently I might

be an economic developer, uh, so

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we're gonna spend a bit of time in

this episode learning what economic

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developers actually do, because apparently

we're economic developers, kinda.

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Michelle Samson: I would agree with

the assessment, but the assessment did

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come from our guest for this episode,

which is Sean Dyke, the CEO of the St.

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Thomas Economic Development Corporation.

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Brendan Sweeney: And St.

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Thomas, uh, I mean, great

guest and great location.

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It just happens to be the location

of the largest greenfield, uh,

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you know, brand new manufacturing

investment in Canada yet.

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And that's the investment in a

battery manufacturing facility by

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Powerco, a subsidiary of Volkswagen.

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And St.

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Thomas is the home of Canada's

largest automotive parts manufacturing

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facility, and that's, uh, Formet,

it's a Magna plant, and it makes

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truck frames for General Motors and

for other companies in North America.

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Michelle Samson: Yeah.

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So for this episode, manufacturing

and economic development and the

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role economic development plays

in attracting and retaining these

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manufacturers are colliding.

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Uh, so we're going to have a really great

discussion with Sean about both getting

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and preparing for these major investments.

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Brendan Sweeney: Yeah, and then

supporting them once you have them.

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You know, once dog catches

car, uh, what do you do?

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And, you know, we've had a lot of

fun in Ontario in the past couple

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years announcing investments.

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Big manufacturing investments, you

know, the likes of PowerCo, Honda,

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probably some more stuff to come.

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I mean we saw just last week some

announcements by Linamar, we saw a new

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anode material plant coming to Windsor.

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Now, now the real work starts,

making sure that we're ready to

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support these investments and to

get as much out of them as we can.

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Michelle Samson: Yeah, that's it,

economic developers aren't walking

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away after the ribbon cutting.

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There's still a lot of really important

work to do and Sean's going to cover

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all of that in the context of PowerCo.

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And we're also subjecting Sean

to a new segment on our podcast.

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Brendan Sweeney: Yeah, and that's

our rapid fire segment, so it's,

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you know, eight or nine questions

in quick succession, not a lot of

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time to think about the answers.

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And so we're gonna learn where Sean

stands on some really important subjects,

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you know, like cats versus dogs, so

really, really hard hitting stuff.

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Stay tuned.

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Michelle Samson: Welcome, Sean.

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Uh, we're really excited to have

an economic developer on the

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podcast, the refreshed podcast.

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This interview with you is really about

celebrating an economic developer who had

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a big win in regards to manufacturing.

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Sean Dyke: Thanks for having me.

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Michelle Samson: So once upon a time

we used to both sit on the Economic

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Developers Council of Ontario.

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So before we get into a couple

other questions about economic

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development, uh, just wanted to get

your sense of why EDCO is important

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and participation in it is important.

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Sean Dyke: Yeah, you know,

I'm still on the board.

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So I, I really enjoy it.

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I like the connections that I'm

able to make there and, and really

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legitimizing this profession a little

bit more than, than what was being

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done in the past, I think is, is

something that is important to me and

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it should be important to everybody.

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I think, you know, there's a lot

of people who will joke about how

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nobody really knows what economic

development is or what we do.

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And I think EDCO gives us a bit of a

structure that we can follow with that,

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that really takes us down a good path

towards, again, more legitimacy, but also

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more of a connected success altogether.

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So I've really enjoyed

my time on the board

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.

Michelle Samson: That's actually a perfect transition to our next question.

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Some of our listeners are maybe less

familiar with economic development.

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What is it that economic developers do?

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Sean Dyke: Well, I think it's a tough

question because it's different in

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every community, and, you know, Brendan

will joke that he's not an economic

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developer, but I think a big part of

what Brendan does actually is economic

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development, and what I do here in St.

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Thomas is much different than what people

do in other communities in the sense that

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when I first came into this role 20 years

ago, the only thing that our organization

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did was really chase investment from, you

know, industrial investment primarily.

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And so we've really shifted that

to more of a community development

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platform where, you know, we're running

the Small Business Enterprise Centre,

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we've taken on Railway City Tourism,

I run the Horton Farmers Market in

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town, we've just partnered with our

Downtown Development Board for the BIA.

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And so it really continues to

shift over time, and I don't know

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where that's going to go next.

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And it's kind of exciting that way,

right, where it changes all the time,

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and although it's hard to define,

it actually makes it a lot more fun.

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Michelle Samson: I would

very much agree with that.

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Almost anything can be considered

economic development if it's improving

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the economy of a local region.

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Um, so how did you get

into this profession?

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Also more generally, how does one

get into economic development?

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Sean Dyke: It's not really the

kind of thing that, you know, as

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a child you dream of getting into,

you know, it's not a fireman or an

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astronaut or something like that, or

whatever people dream of these days.

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I think for me, I wanted to have a role

where I could make a difference somewhere.

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And so I started looking at

different charity type jobs or,

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you know, community type roles.

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And, I had just moved back

from Japan personally.

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And so it was a bit of

a transition for me.

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And I didn't really expect to

stay here to be quite honest.

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I didn't even show up

for my first interview.

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Um, but over time, you know, when you

start to get that really positive feeling

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when maybe the people that live next

door were able to find a job at a, a

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plant that we helped attract to the

community, or a business, a small business

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continues to grow in the community and

you get to see that from the ground

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up and all of a sudden really be a

part of their success, it really hooks

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you in and it's really hard to leave.

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So, I mean, as far as getting into it,

I mean, I have a business degree, but

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I don't necessarily think you need one.

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What we do isn't super difficult, it's

actually really just about relationships

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and growing that within the community

and making sure that people know that

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they can call you when they need support.

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Our mission here is to

improve the quality of life.

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And that can take a lot of different

paths and like going down all of them.

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Brendan Sweeney: What

were you up to in Japan?

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Sean Dyke: I was a high school teacher in

Japan through a government program called

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the Japan Exchange and Teaching Program.

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My wife and I were both there.

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Uh, it's fascinating.

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It's probably what helped

me get my job here.

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That and on my resume, I said

I was the Uxbridge Santa Claus,

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which I was for three years.

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That seemed to set me apart from

some of the other applicants.

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So, Santa Claus and some Japanese skills

seems to have really put me in the

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right spot for economic development.

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Brendan Sweeney: So you've

been in ecdev in St.

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Thomas for about two decades?

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Sean Dyke: Yeah, last year

was my 20th year here.

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Brendan Sweeney: Tell us about St.

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Thomas over the past 20 years.

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The world is dynamic, has happened in St.

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Thomas is dynamic, um,

where was it 20 years ago?

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Where did it go?

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Where is it going?

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and what has your role been there?

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Sean Dyke: I mean, it was the best of

times and it was the worst of times,

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and it was the mediocre times, and

now it's the best of times again.

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So I first started in St.

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Thomas, it was a booming

industrial community.

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You know, Ford had their assembly

plant here, Sterling Trucks

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was assembling trucks here.

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All their suppliers were thriving.

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Uh, then in 2008, 2009, 2010 we lost

the majority of our industrial workforce.

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We lost over 5,000 jobs in a community

at the time of less than 40,000 people.

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Uh, really significant hit on the

economy here and not just that, but on

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the mentality of what it was to be here.

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Uh, but this community has been

through a fair amount of that in

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the past and it's pretty resilient.

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And I guess I didn't know that until we

went through it here personally, and to

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be able to see what's happened over time.

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We had a, our whole industrial park was

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Then all of a sudden companies

started realizing that maybe

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it's not such a bad place to be.

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We've got trained labor, we've got

a good location between Toronto and

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Detroit here, and a number of different

industries started selecting here,

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and I think that opened the doors to

a lot of follow on type investment.

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So we filled up our industrial park.

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And continued to grow the community

and now we're in a position

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where we're, we're now the host

of really the largest greenfield

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industrial investment in Canada.

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So, really full circle and, uh,

couldn't be more excited to be here.

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Michelle Samson: So, Sean, was

the community proactive in getting

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that industrial park filled up?

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Did you do anything or was there just

sort of a changing of the tides and

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companies were starting to find you?

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Sean Dyke: I think in everything

that we do, there's a lot of factors.

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I mean, we can try to take credit

for it, I suppose, but the reality

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is, is that the prices were very low

on industrial buildings and land.

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And when you factor low prices

with a great location and a trained

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workforce, I don't know that we have

to work that hard to be successful.

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I'm not trying to put down what we

do, but at the same time, our role

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during that was mostly to try to combat

some of the negativity around St.

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Thomas as a location, recognizing

that, you know, the CBC, the CTV,

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all the news outlets were here in St.

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Thomas saying how bad it was, always

standing out in front of the closed

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Ford plant and talking about it.

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So we started the St.

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Thomas Proud campaign, which was a hashtag

campaign that kind of started before

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most people were doing hashtag campaigns.

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So we tried to be a pioneer.

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I'm not sure if we really are, but

it was, uh, it worked extremely well.

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I think we were very successful in

changing some of the attitudes here

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locally, because it's not just about

what other people think of us, it's

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about what we think of ourselves.

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And if everybody from St.

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Thomas is going out in a 'woe is me'

kind of attitude and talking about

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how bad it is here, then why would

you select to move your business here?

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So, we really were proactive

on that side and the community

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really rallied around that.

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So, did the community support us?

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Yeah, for sure.

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But there's a lot of factors

again that really drive that

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investment in the community.

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Michelle Samson: So you've mentioned,

you've kind of touched on a variety

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of selling points, but, let's

focus specifically on PowerCo.

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You know, I'd love to hear how they

found you and, you know, what you

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guys did to service that lead and, and

what was really selling them on St.

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Thomas.

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Sean Dyke: So, stepping back a little bit

in time, we, a number of years ago, we

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were working on a fairly large industrial

investment that ended up falling through.

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We were working with the province on

it through the Ministry of Economic

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Development, but through that process,

we were able to identify about a 200

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acre piece of property that would have

been perfect for that development.

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Maybe not perfect since

they didn't pick here.

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So through that process we developed

even stronger relationships with

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the people at the ministry that

we needed to be connected to.

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So when the job site challenge came out

as a provincial mandate to try to develop

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500 plus acre sites, they asked us if

we had anything, if there was a way we

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could expand that site to be larger.

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And so we talked to our surrounding

municipalities and they weren't too

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interested in working with us time.

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So we kind of just decided to go on our

own and we ended up acquiring enough

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land to be a part of that job site

challenge and really to put something

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out there that would be attractive to

whatever kind of investment was there.

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Quite honestly, we weren't doing it for

PowerCo at the time or Volkswagen or Ford

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or GM or Stellantis or anyone like that.

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We really didn't know who

was going to jump at it.

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And so moving forward in time, uh,

the EV sector started to take off

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in Ontario and certainly we had

a number of companies through St.

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Thomas looking at that site, some

of which have invested in Ontario

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and some have invested in the U.S.

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When PowerCo started looking, we got down

to the number one and number two site

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with Tulsa, Oklahoma, and they'd already

narrowed it down from their 97 that

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they started with across North America.

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And, uh, with us, it really

was, I think, just relationship

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building and developing that trust.

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You know, they believed that we could

actually do what we said we were going to

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do, and that's always our pitch, right?

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I mean, we're a smaller municipality where

we don't have the resources sometimes

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that some of the bigger cities have.

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But we do have something that they

don't in the sense that we can be

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very nimble, we can move very quickly.

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We're a separate corporation, so

we're able to do things a little

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bit differently than maybe what

some communities are able to do.

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And the people at PowerCo

recognized it, they trusted us.

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Our mayor was a very strong supporter

of this project and, he's got his, " Yes

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is the answer, now what's the question?"

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slogan that he uses with

everything that we do.

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And it really resonated with the company.

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Michelle Samson: It is a really big moment

to announce a new investment like this.

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It might be easy to think, all

right, all the work is done,

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for the economic developer.

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They, you know, we landed

the deal, we got it.

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Uh, but there's a lot of work

that happens afterwards too.

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What is St.

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Thomas and what are you doing

to prepare for this investment?

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Sean Dyke: So the city as a whole,

as an organization, has been

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very supportive of this project.

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We actually took our city engineer and

made him the director of industrial

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development for the large industrial park.

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We actually have a 1,500 acre

industrial park that we're

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developing as a result of this.

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PowerCo's only using 400 acres, uh,

but it takes a whole team to really

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run that and develop it and build

it out appropriately for investment.

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The city team is doing all of the

engineering work, whether it's

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working with Hydro One or doing the

rail or telecommunications, roads,

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I mean, really, it's a giant piece

of property that we're developing.

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From an economic development side, what

we're focused on is dealing with the

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companies, working with other levels

of government to make that we're really

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going down the path in a smart way so

that the suppliers to PowerCo and other

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businesses that need to be in this area

have somewhere to locate that makes sense.

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For the last 20 years, I've, had

about 150 acres to market in St.

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Thomas.

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now I have, 1,100, or maybe about

900 after you take out the roads

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and remaining trees and things.

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So, we've really been pushing hard

to do everything we can to make

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it as easy as possible for PowerCo

to really move into the community.

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They're at, uh, just about 150 people

working here now in downtown St.

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Thomas.

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We actually hold the lease on the

space that they're operating in.

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Uh, they, they're our tenants, basically.

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And we're very happy to have them here.

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They're an unbelievable

company to work with.

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And yeah, the project takes

a long time to get going.

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We've completed all of the

grading on the site, uh, working

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with Infrastructure Ontario and

a number of different partners.

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And it has been unbelievable just

seeing the rallying behind it that has

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happened in the community now that sort

of the hush hush part of it's gone.

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So we've taken a very active role

in trying to promote that as well.

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We, we had to be very secretive at first,

which I think turned some people off.

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But since then, we've been running

something called From the Beehive, which

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is a weekly video podcast that really

explains what's happening on the site,

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what's happening with the company.

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We try to do it in a fun and quirky

way that kind of, you know, makes it

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more relatable to local people and

gives them something to go on when

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they're talking to their friends and

family about what's happening in St.

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Thomas.

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Brendan Sweeney: So when I really first

started kind of coming on the scene

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with the automotive work following

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still to some degree in southern

Ontario basking in the glow of the

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Toyota Woodstock announcement, and our

friends and colleagues, um, Len and

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Brad at Woodstock, had a presentation

about how Toyota came to Woodstock

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and, there was a real notion that the

first rule of economic development and

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investment attraction is don't talk

about economic development and investment

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attraction and keep this secret.

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The approach appeared to be a bit

different with the PowerCo investment, at

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least at some point in time when you had

senior federal leaders taking photos with

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folks from PowerCo and, you know, there

seemed to be about a six month period

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where people knew something was happening.

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Um, compare and contrast the approach

to at least the final months of

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the PowerCo investment to maybe the

Nexstar or the Toyota investment.

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Sean Dyke: Sure, I think during

the actual selection process,

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we still kept it very quiet.

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I think a lot of people in town had no

idea what was going on aside from the

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fact that we were out acquiring land.

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You know, in any community that has to

develop an industrial park, there's always

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that push and pull between agricultural

land and industrial land that makes the

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news and certainly, uh, causes uproar in

some cases and it's discomfort for some

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people and, um, we had to deal with that

for a long period of time as we were

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working through the PowerCo process.

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As soon as it was announced, though,

the day that we had Premier Ford and

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Prime Minister Trudeau and all of the,

you know, the higher ups from Volkswagen

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and PowerCo here in town, from that day

forward for the next six months, we had,

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it was like a revolving door of photo ops

and really trying to celebrate the success

333

that Ontario was having in the EV sector.

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And, of course, here in St.

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Thomas, we are quite

proud to be a part of it.

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As far as how that was compared to what

happened with Toyota, I think it's, in

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some ways, a bit of a cultural difference

too, the Japanese versus German move.

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I mean, we have, we have suppliers here

that came as a result of Toyota and in

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the same way, they didn't really want

to be out there and being all flashy

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either, until they needed to hire

people and then they were quite happy

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to be an exciting part of the community

and they've remained that way since.

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Brendan Sweeney: When it comes to hiring

people, PowerCo and other companies are

343

going to need to hire a bunch of people.

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Thousands of people over the next few

years, whether it is, you know, incumbent

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companies to replace people who leave

via retirement and other attrition,

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or just to upgrade or to expand.

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Uh, PowerCo has 150 people.

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They might have 20 times that many

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What is your role in workforce development

and making sure that the companies

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can connect with the right people

and that they can get them from, you

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know, their homes that may be in St.

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Thomas, they may be in Elgin County,

they may be in London, they may be

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in the surrounding region, but they

can get them from their homes to

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the plant door, the plant gates?

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Sean Dyke: We've established working

groups with PowerCo on every part

356

of their project development and one

of the big ones is HR, obviously.

357

They are going to grow.

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They anticipate being at just over

400 likely by the end of this year.

359

That's not including any

construction jobs, obviously,

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but actually working for PowerCo.

361

So far, we haven't had to do

a lot in the recruitment side.

362

They have, they have an

HR team that's doing that.

363

Uh, they've been working with Volkswagen

Canada, and I think they're very

364

thankful to have that group there with

them to, to support what they're doing.

365

What we've kind of been doing is, more

on the welcome wagon sort of side of

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things where, as new employees from

PowerCo or team members come to town,

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we've been providing them with tours of

the community, helping them find housing,

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whether it's here or in the surrounding

area, figuring out where their kids would

369

go to school, where, the opportunities are

for recreation, all of that kind of thing.

370

Kind of rolling out the red carpet

for anyone who's moving to the region.

371

And likewise, they've been using some

other firms to help with that as well.

372

Going forward, there's a number of

workforce groups in the community

373

stretching from, you know, London

to Oxford County, Middlesex, Elgin.

374

We're going to be working with them

to make sure that we're supporting

375

PowerCo in everything that they do.

376

We have a budget to support them, we

have people here, we've got time, and we

377

know how important it is for them to find

good people, for them to be successful,

378

and that's going to be a big part of

what we do over the next few years.

379

Brendan Sweeney: Do you think you'll be

the new Oktoberfest capital of Canada?

380

Are you looking at, uh, Frankenmuth,

Michigan or Leavenworth, Washington

381

to, to see how you could do

something new and exciting, uh,

382

in collaboration with PowerCo?

383

Sean Dyke: So we've been

actually very fortunate.

384

So we actually had our very

first Oktoberfest in St.

385

Thomas in 2023.

386

Uh, and it was, it was reasonably

small, but it was, it was good.

387

The weather was terrible.

388

Um, in 2024, we took it over

and we were calling it arguably

389

Canada's second best Oktoberfest.

390

So we're not trying to be the best,

we just want to be second best

391

and, uh, it's hard to prove whether

we're successful or not, but we

392

had well over 5,000 people attend.

393

PowerCo ended up being the major sponsor,

which is the first time they really made

394

that venture into community support.

395

And it was a huge positive

experience for everyone.

396

Uh, we're currently in the process

of working with, the municipal

397

government in Salzgitter, Germany,

which is where PowerCo is based.

398

We would love to be able to establish

a bit of a sister city relationship

399

where, you know, we benefit from

school exchanges or business

400

exchange and that sort of thing.

401

Uh, we've been back and forth a few

times already, and we're looking

402

forward to going back again in April.

403

Brendan Sweeney: So, um, St.

404

Thomas is a kind of smallish midsize city.

405

You are in a relatively well populated

part of the country, and I imagine

406

that, you know, to get set up for,

whether it was for the PowerCo

407

investment or to support other large

employers in the city like Magna,

408

there's a regional approach to this.

409

Tell us about what that looks like from

your perspective, whether it's working

410

with SOMA, whether it's working with

the Western Ontario Wardens Caucus,

411

um, or other regional partners who come

together to make these things work.

412

Sean Dyke: Yeah, we've been

working with the LEDC in London

413

since the beginning of this.

414

We one of our advantages is actually

that we're in the middle of this

415

area that has a large workforce,

and London's the biggest piece of

416

that, with Kitchener Waterloo area

being the next, closest after that.

417

Um, SOMA's been a huge part of what we

do here for the last 25 years here in St.

418

Thomas, and will continue to be.

419

Uh, we're also working a little bit with

Middlesex County on regional transit and

420

things like that that are important to

get labour from one place to another.

421

But the other thing we don't

want to forget is that, You know,

422

PowerCo is not the only industrial

business growing here, and that's

423

true of the region, but we, in St.

424

Thomas, without PowerCo, like, if we

just look at building permits alone,

425

we had about $75 million in building

permits last year, but if you were

426

to compare that to the last 25 years,

the next best was like 30 million,

427

and that doesn't include PowerCo.

428

PowerCo had a billion dollar permit that's

not included in that, that we're very

429

excited about, but I can't use that in

my charts because the chart doesn't work

430

when you add a billion dollar permit in.

431

I have to start new charts.

432

It's like BC and AD kind of thing.

433

It's where we're in a very different,

different stage now in our lives.

434

Um, but we've had amazing growth

from companies like Amino North

435

America Corporation, which is

a Japanese auto parts supplier.

436

Uh, Element 5 is, tripling in size,

which they're, uh, basically a wood

437

construction firm and they do, uh,

glulam and different wood beams.

438

We've got Vicano from Brantford

that's building massively in St.

439

Thomas and really growing

out, uh, our industrial park.

440

So it's amazing to see that we've

had this much success even without

441

PowerCo being included in our numbers.

442

A big part of what we're going to

have to focus on in the future is

443

that residential growth and, and we're

really going to rely on that region to

444

make sure they can supply us with the

labour force that we need to, to support

445

not just this project, but all of the

things that are growing in the area.

446

Brendan Sweeney: One of the first site

visits I did in My current position

447

at the Trillium Network was in St.

448

Thomas.

449

And it was in November, 2019, and

a colleague of mine and I went

450

down on a visit to Arva Industries,

which is right behind Formet.

451

And it was at a time when I think

there was a, a very short rail

452

strike, but at Formet they were

doing two General Motors programs.

453

They were kind of doing the, uh,

replacement frames for an end of

454

life General Motors truck program

and a new General Motors program.

455

And that two or three day rail delay meant

they needed to put the frames places where

456

they normally wouldn't put it and reminded

me of being like in Hearst or Kapuskasing

457

in northern Ontario or somewhere in

northern British Columbia where you

458

drive into the town and it's just lumber

but it was truck frames everywhere.

459

One thing that I think it's important

to know that Formet, the Magna

460

structures and frame facilities,

that's the largest automotive parts

461

plant in Canada by some margin.

462

The second largest is Polycon,

is another Magna plant in Guelph.

463

And, you know, they're the largest

manufacturer in Canada, one of the

464

largest automotive parts manufacturers

in the world based in Aurora, Ontario.

465

How important is Magna to St.

466

Thomas, and how important have they been

through all this dynamism that we've

467

experienced in southwestern Ontario

and that you've experienced in St.

468

Thomas over the past 20 years?

469

Sean Dyke: Yeah, Magna's

our largest employer.

470

We have two Magna facilities in St.

471

Thomas.

472

We have Format and Presstran.

473

They support each other to a

certain degree, but really,

474

they're independent businesses.

475

Magna actually showed

their commitment to St.

476

Thomas again last year.

477

They built a new facility in St.

478

Thomas, right in the downtown,

basically, actually, at the

479

edge of our industrial park.

480

And it's about to start operation now.

481

They've got almost 2,800

employees, maybe, here in St.

482

Thomas working.

483

And even when we, we did our PowerCo

announcement when the Prime Minister and

484

Premier were here, along with all of the

business leaders in the community, we made

485

a point of thanking Magna as, you know,

a company that's really stuck with this

486

community through good and bad times.

487

And else has had, but they obviously

They've they've had the same

488

challenges everyone else has had And

I know they'll continue to be here.

489

They're, they're working hard to adapt

to the changes in the auto sector.

490

And.

491

I think they're pretty happy with

their labour force here in St.

492

Thomas and obviously the location

benefits them as they're shipping

493

both east and west from St.

494

Thomas.

495

Brendan Sweeney: You mentioned Element 5.

496

I think they're really exciting.

497

Tell us why they're exciting.

498

Sean Dyke: Well, to me, it's an

interesting new shift in the building

499

environment, and with the new rules in

Ontario to change so they can build the

500

apartment buildings even higher, this

wood construction has really changed the

501

way that companies are looking at putting

in affordable housing, for example.

502

Element 5 has taken a leadership role in

developing affordable housing in a number

503

of communities across Canada and the U.S.

504

And for us in St.

505

Thomas, it's, you know, when they came

here, they said they're going to make St.

506

Thomas the, uh, lumber capital

of the world, and I kind of

507

thought they were kidding.

508

But since then, they've

massively expanded.

509

They're not open yet, but

they're continuing to grow.

510

The neat thing is they're using their

own product in their construction of

511

their new building, is fascinating.

512

We've never seen wood construction

in industrial buildings here, and

513

I think it'll be a real showcase

for them to use as they're

514

talking to clients in the future.

515

But it's also a neat company to work

with, you know, it's a Canadian company

516

that's now partnered with a European firm.

517

And, you know, we're really excited

with what they could do in the future.

518

And we have no doubt that they're

going to continue to expand in St.

519

Thomas.

520

I've got some land within our industrial

park that we're building out now

521

earmarked for them, just in case.

522

And we're pretty excited to see what can

happen when they really hit their stride.

523

Brendan Sweeney: Maybe they'd be

a good guest on this podcast, eh?,

524

Sean Dyke: They'd be amazing, and

they're great to talk to, they've

525

got really interesting backgrounds,

all the people that work there, and

526

I'm sure they'd love to talk to you.

527

Brendan Sweeney: So Magna, Element 5,

PowerCo, anything else going on in St.

528

Thomas right now that you'd

like to pump tires on that we

529

haven't asked specifically about?

530

Sean Dyke: Yeah, on the industrial

side, everybody's growing.

531

It's fantastic.

532

I mean, it's a number of years ago, we

were having trouble finding employees.

533

I think the same is everywhere.

534

Recently, though, what we're hearing from

manufacturers is that it's much easier to

535

find the labor that they're looking for.

536

My guess is that in the future,

what we'll see is a trend away from

537

driving a long way to get to work.

538

Uh, I think you'll see

a lot of people in St.

539

Thomas that currently drive to,

let's say they drive to Woodstock or

540

London or Sarnia even to go to work.

541

Maybe they'll start looking

at roles here in St.

542

Thomas and maybe they'll be with

PowerCo or Magna or someone like that.

543

What we're focusing on as a

community right now is housing.

544

Both affordable and I guess

we'll say unaffordable housing?

545

Brendan Sweeney: Market driven.

546

Sean Dyke: Yeah, it's sort

of market driven right now.

547

The market seems a little bit nuts,

but, uh, it's changing over time and I,

548

you know, prices are starting to come

down a little bit, but when you get the

549

hype of a large investment like PowerCo

coming here, the shift that we've seen

550

has been remarkable in the sense that St.

551

Thomas used to be the type of place

that people would come and they'd

552

buy a single family home or build a

single family home with a nice fence

553

and place for their dog to run around.

554

But what we struggle with is rentals.

555

We have a 0 percent

vacancy rate here in St.

556

Thomas.

557

The prices are about the same here

as they are in the GTA, which might

558

not be reflected in the wages people

are earning at some of the different

559

businesses that they work at.

560

So, what we're trying to do is really

encourage more of that apartment building

561

type growth and we're seeing it now.

562

We've got multi residential sort

of popping up all over the place.

563

We've got larger towers going in that

should be open by the time PowerCo is

564

ready to really do their major hiring.

565

Not to say that these are where the

majority of their employees might want

566

to live, but uh, it's nice to have the

options and it helps drive the prices

567

down a little bit more for what the

future growth of the city looks like.

568

Brendan Sweeney: And Hannover.

569

You'll be in Hannover.

570

I'll be in Hannover.

571

Lots of our folks from our

network will be in Hannover.

572

Tell us a bit about what you're looking

forward to doing, seeing, achieving.

573

Sean Dyke: Yeah, so through SOMA, St.

574

Thomas is a member of the Ontario

Manufacturing Communities Alliance.

575

That group will be at Hannover

along with, it seems like every

576

other economic developer in Ontario,

and really across the country.

577

For us in St.

578

Thomas, Hannover is an important

event for us because it's the closest

579

city to where PowerCo is based.

580

Uh, so I'll actually be there on

my own for a little bit, but then

581

the, the Mayor will be joining

me midway through the week.

582

We've got two other people,

including our Director of

583

Industrial Development for the site.

584

We'll be going to visit with PowerCo

and with the people in Salzgitter and

585

really solidifying that relationship.

586

But we're obviously there to try

to drum up some new business and

587

to support suppliers that PowerCo

might want to locate here in Ontario.

588

And, you know, we saw some

good announcements this week

589

from companies like Linamar.

590

There's lots of really exciting

growth happening in Ontario.

591

For anyone who doesn't think the EV sector

is going to go anywhere, a big piece

592

of that investment was on the EV side.

593

PowerCo continues to make announcements

about where they're sourcing their

594

product from and deals they've made with

Canadian, North American based companies.

595

I'm pretty excited about the future and

recognizing that it's going a little bit

596

slower than what people were anticipating.

597

But, uh, it's going to be good and we're

happy to be right in the heart of it.

598

Brendan Sweeney: Slow and

steady is often a much better

599

approach than rushed and hasty.

600

Sean Dyke: I think we saw that a

little bit with the rise of the

601

cannabis industry in Ontario.

602

It, it went off really a little

bit too quick, I think, and you

603

saw a number of companies not

really thrive through that process.

604

And hopefully the EV race is a

little bit different than that one.

605

Brendan Sweeney: So Sean, we've

got a new feature on the podcast.

606

You're gonna be the first one.

607

And this is our rapid fire questions.

608

Maybe we'll accompany this with

an AI generated, uh, unlicensed

609

version of the Judas Priest song.

610

Play a song like rapid fire.

611

Um, but anyway, um,these are

some hard hitting questions.

612

Really get to the bottom of things.

613

Michelle Samson: Really hard.

614

Brendan Sweeney: Here's the

first really hard hitting stuff.

615

Michelle Samson: Actually, this first

one might actually be a bit hard.

616

Brendan Sweeney: Yeah,

you got to make a choice.

617

Michelle Samson: I know you're a bit

of a foodie, what is your top St.

618

Thomas restaurant?

619

Sean Dyke: Here in St.

620

Thomas, I would say Plaza Sushi

is the go to place for us.

621

Michelle Samson: Nice.

622

Brendan Sweeney: Okay,

favorite local winery.

623

Sean Dyke: Quai Du Vins.

624

Michelle Samson: Beach or mountains?

625

Sean Dyke: Mountains.

626

Not in St.

627

Thomas though.

628

Brendan Sweeney: Summer or winter?

629

Sean Dyke: Summer,

630

Michelle Samson: Spring or fall?

631

Sean Dyke: Fall.

632

Brendan Sweeney: Hershey or gargoyle?

633

Sean Dyke: Hershey, you've been looking

at my Facebook feed or something, but

634

Brendan Sweeney: No, if we because we

got that that that I gave you that phone.

635

Michelle Samson: For the confused

listeners: Sean's dog and Sean's cat.

636

And sorry, which, which

did you pick, your dog?

637

Sean Dyke: I picked the dog, yeah.

638

Michelle Samson: Oh,

okay, don't tell the cat.

639

Uh, here's an economic development one.

640

Investment attraction or BR&E?

641

Sean Dyke: Investment attraction,

but with the caveat that that

642

doesn't happen without BR&E.

643

Michelle Samson: Being diplomatic.

644

Sean Dyke: Honestly, we tried investment

attraction without BR&E for, like,

645

decades when I first started here, and it

really doesn't work, so, you need both.

646

Brendan Sweeney: Okay, this one,

this one could get controversial.

647

Um, favorite Woodstock economic developer.

648

Sean Dyke: Oh dear, that's not fair.

649

Brendan Sweeney: Yeah.

650

Sean Dyke: Let's go with Brad Hammond.

651

Brendan Sweeney: Okay, okay.

652

Provocative, controversial

opinions on Making it in Ontario.

653

Michelle Samson: What was the

last big concert you attended?

654

Sean Dyke: Uh, the last big

concert I attended was Pink.

655

Michelle Samson: Ooh, nice.

656

Brendan Sweeney: What was the

first big concert you attended?

657

Sean Dyke: Neil Diamond.

658

Michelle Samson: Ooh.

659

Brendan Sweeney: Very cool.

660

So I mean that's what we've got for you.

661

Anything for us?

662

Anything you wanted us

to ask that we didn't?

663

Anything we forgot to ask?

664

Anything that, um, you'd

like to say, to wrap this up?

665

Sean Dyke: I think we hit

most of the key points there.

666

There's a lot of neat things happening in

this region right now, you know, it'd be

667

impossible to talk about all of it anyway.

668

What I found really interesting

personally has been the impact of

669

something as small as a farmer's market

in supporting the downtown and the

670

regional growth of this community.

671

It's been really interesting to see.

672

You know, we didn't know what we

were getting into when we took it on.

673

It's been a lot of work, but the rewards

have been outstanding, so I would

674

encourage any other economic developers

looking at things to get involved with,

675

to really look at farmers markets.

676

It's a, it's a unique environment.

677

It's a neat group of people,

and what a great way to support

678

small business in the region.

679

Brendan Sweeney: And maybe we'll have

some conversations about that at the EDCO

680

conference in Toronto, February 4, 5, 6.

681

Looking forward to it.

682

Sean Dyke: I'm I'm forward to it too.

683

They've actually tapped me and

asked me to be the MC for the awards

684

dinner, which they used to pay people

for, so we'll see how that goes.

685

No

686

Michelle Samson: I'm sure you'll do great.

687

We'll report back on this podcast.

688

No, I'm just kidding.

689

Sean Dyke: That's okay.

690

I can, I can handle criticism.

691

It's fine.

692

Brendan Sweeney: Can you handle praise?

693

Sean Dyke: No, not as well.

694

Yeah, no, both are fine.

695

Thank you.

696

Michelle Samson: New episodes of Making

it in Ontario are published weekly.

697

Follow us now on Apple Podcasts or

Spotify to make sure you don't miss any.

698

Making it in Ontario is an

initiative of the Trillium Network

699

for Advanced Manufacturing.

700

It is produced by Storied Places Media.