From left Greenfield investment: Hon. Steve Clark, Member of Provincial Parliament for Leeds—Grenville—Thousand Islands and Rideau Lakes, Patrick (Pat) Sayeau, Mayor Edwardsburgh Cardinal Council, Kenneth Field, founder and chairman of Greenfield Global, Brendan Bland, director of operations, Greenfield Global, Michael Barrett, Member of Parliament for Leeds-Grenville-Thousand Islands and Rideau Lakes. Courtesy photo
JOHNSTOWN — The Ontario government is providing $2.5-million through the Ontario Together Fund to support Greenfield Global’s $75-million investment in their Johnstown plant to produce medical-grade alcohol critical to making hand sanitizers for Ontario individuals, families and frontline workers.
The announcement was made last week by Leeds-Grenville-Thousand Islands and Rideau Lakes MPP Steve Clark on behalf of the Hon. Vic Fedeli, Minister of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade.
“I am pleased to announce our government’s support for Greenfield Global as they upgrade their facilities to provide critical PPE for Ontarians. This is a great investment in producing made-in-Ontario solutions in the Johnstown community as we work together to get Ontario back on track,” said Clark.
“Ontario is supporting companies like Greenfield Global so they can continue to provide made-in-Ontario solutions to reduce our dependence on foreign supply chains and strengthen our domestic capacity,” said Minister Fedeli. “By working together with these innovative businesses, we are ensuring we are well-prepared for the future as we continue our fight against COVID-19.”
With Ontario’s support, Greenfield will undertake a major upgrade of the Johnstown facility’s distillation technology to produce over 114 million litres of specialty medical-grade alcohol annually, which will be used in hand sanitizers and other applications that rely on high purity alcohol. This amount would make over 150 million, one litre bottles of hand sanitizers if all of the output was used for the product. The project will help reduce Ontario’s dependency on other jurisdictions as a source of high-grade alcohols and will strengthen the province’s position as a leader in PPE production, while creating eight new jobs.
“Expansion of our Johnstown facility is an exciting considerable step forward in our domestic supply capacity. This will greatly enhance our capabilities to serve our customers, including life science and pharmaceutical companies, that are experiencing unprecedented demand for their products needed to protect citizens and help keep us safe and healthy amid the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Greenfield president and CEO, Howard Field.
Clark noted it’s the second major investment by the government in the riding for PPE production after the federal and provincial governments each committed $23.3-million for 3M Canada’s new N-95 respirator mask plant.
“Residents of Leeds-Grenville-Thousand Islands and Rideau Lakes can take pride in the fact that we’re playing a leading role in ensuring we have a made-in-Ontario source to strengthen our PPE supply,” said Clark.
Through the Ontario Together Fund, the government is delivering targeted investments that will increase the province’s stockpile of Ontario-made products and PPE. This new manufacturing capacity will help the province to combat the current COVID-19 outbreak and prepare for potential challenges in the future, while supporting local businesses during the safe and gradual reopening of the province.
The government launched the $50-million Ontario Together Fund to help businesses retool their operations to produce PPE and develop technology-driven solutions and services for businesses to reopen safely.
