Epiroc announced today that it is converting its North Bay production facility into a distribution centre and transferring production to other facilities in Québec and Sweden.
"This restructuring will result in a reduction of 65 positions," says a news release from the company. "The employees who are part of the local engineering, sales, and product management teams dedicated to rock exploration will remain in the North Bay facility.
"This decision reflects the challenging business climate that existed prior to the global pandemic, which now reinforces the need to increase efficiency and strengthen the company for the future," the release continues.
"The North Bay Distribution Centre will remain active and continue serving clients."
Denis Landry, Epiroc's vice-president of exploration, said the company's HobicTm core bit series and its wirelines drill rods will now be manufactured at its Montréal facility as part of its plan to "become more efficient and gain synergies."
"We regret that we have to let people go, but we must adapt to changing market conditions so the company is strong for the future,” Landry said.
The North Bay facility belongs to the Ground Support and Rock Exploration business lines within the Tools & Attachments division of Epiroc. The production for Ground Support and its SwellexTM product line will be transferred to Sweden.
The production for Rock Exploration will gradually move to Montréal, where Epiroc already manufactures diamond tools and tubular products dedicated to the mineral exploration industry within the Fordia Powered by Epiroc facilities. Investments will be made to support the transition of those product lines starting in May 2020 and will be completed during the year.
This story originally appeared on BayToday.ca.
