Ross Video building new state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in eastern Ontario
Ross Video is breaking ground on its new state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in eastern Ontario, and it promises the facility will be completely green.
The company designs and manufactures equipment for live event and video production is expanding its Iroquois, Ont. facility, an hour south of Ottawa.
Jeff Poapst, Ross Video’s chief manufacturing officer, said the facility would be carbon neutral by 2030.
"Our commitment to environmental sustainability is taking a real step forward with this expansion," said Poapst.
The company boasts clients like NBC, as well as provided technology for big events like the Super Bowl and the Oscars.
CEO David Ross tells CTV News Ottawa that the industry is seeing a shift with a focus more and more on sustainability.
"Especially when you get to a certain size of a company, it’s important to have a certain social responsibility," he explained. "They (clients) do ask us about our environmental impact. It’s becoming more and more of a question that affects your competitiveness if you’re not able to say you're a green company."
Plans include adding solar panels on the roof, which the manufacturing company will use to power its facility. It will also upgrade insulation, and add charging stations for employees' electric vehicles, among other features.
The entire renovation will not be cheap, it comes with a price tag of $15 million. The Ontario Government will provide $2.25 million of that under the regional development program.
Ontario Minister of Economic and Job Creation Victor Fedelli says that will help create 30 new jobs.
"We know that our investment helps encourage growth, it helps encourage the job creation. And so that's why we’re here," said Fedelli. "It is a very green industry and they’re making it even greener."
The expansion is set to be completed by 2022, with the entire facility being carbon neutral by 2030. In all it will add more than 100 new jobs to the area in the next few years, according to the company.
Iroquois is a small rural area with a population of 4,500 in South Dundas, Mayor Steven Byvelds says it’s positive that smaller areas can be seen as a pivotal location for technology companies.
"Jobs are important," he explains. "We need those jobs, high-tech jobs to bring good money into our community and that money is spent, and other people enjoy the benefits of having a high-tech manufacturing facility to broaden our economic development horizons."
Ross, who grew up in the region, said he’s “proud” to be expanding in the region.
"It’s my home. It’s where I grew up," he says. "There’s nothing like making an impact in the town where you went to high school."
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Several flight attendants from Pakistan have gone missing after landing in Canada
Multiple flight attendants from Pakistan International Airlines have abandoned their jobs and are believed to have sought asylum in Canada in the past year and a half, a spokesperson for the government-owned airline says.
BREAKING Ottawa public school board, 3 Toronto-area school boards launch lawsuit against social media giants
The Ottawa-Carleton District School Board and three school boards in the Toronto-area have launched legal action against social media giants, accusing them of "disrupting students' fundamental right to education."
Doctors visiting a Gaza hospital are stunned by the war's toll on Palestinian children
An international team of doctors visiting a hospital in central Gaza was prepared for the worst. But the gruesome impact Israel’s war against Hamas is having on Palestinian children still left them stunned.
Crypt near Marilyn Monroe and Hugh Hefner could fetch US$400,000 at auction
A one-space mausoleum crypt in the vicinity of Marilyn Monroe and Hugh Hefner will go on auction Saturday, when it is expected to reach between US$200,000 and $400,000.
This Toronto restaurant is no longer accepting tips. Here's how it's going
A Toronto restaurant introduced a surprising new rule that reduced the cost of a meal and raised the salaries of staff – tipping is no longer accepted.
A Nigerian woman reviewed some tomato puree online. Now she faces jail
A Nigerian woman who wrote an online review of a can of tomato puree is facing imprisonment after its manufacturer accused her of making a “malicious allegation” that damaged its business.
Premiers not being truthful about carbon tax, Trudeau says while sparks fly in Ottawa
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says Conservative premiers across the country are 'not telling the truth' when it comes to the carbon tax. Trudeau's comments came as fresh sparks were flying in Ottawa at a recalled House of Commons committee.
Far North police 'dispatch' polar bear stalking schoolyard
Police and local hunters in an Ontario Far North First Nation community have “dispatched” a polar that was showing abnormal behaviour and treating the area as a hunting ground.
Cargo ship had engine maintenance in port before Baltimore bridge collapse, officials say
The cargo ship that lost power and crashed into a bridge in Baltimore underwent 'routine engine maintenance' in port beforehand, the U.S. Coast Guard said Wednesday.