Ready to Rock

In March 2015, mining equipment manufacturer Rock-Tech opened a new, $6 million ultra-modern facility with financial help from the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund Corporation. The 32,000 square-foot plant was designed for maximum productivity, energy efficiency and environmental sustainability, and it has positioned the Sudbury-based company for future growth in the highly competitive global mining industry. “We can do three to four times the volume we did prior to the expansion,” says Rock-Tech president Ricky Lemieux. Rock-Tech makes three lines of products: mine utility vehicles, stationary rock breaker systems and fuel/lubricant storage and handling systems and counts Vale, Goldcorp and Glencore among its clients. But the company is keen to increase its export business which currently sits at about five per cent. “The NOHFC’s contribution was tremendously important to us. Our new manufacturing facility will allow us to grow and compete on a global scale, which is where we intend to take the business.”