Maureen Revait/CKNX News Today.ca
Landing electric battery supply chain operations just got a little easier for Invest WindsorEssex after Stellantis confirmed it will move forward with the NextStar Energy plant.
Stellantis announced Wednesday afternoon that they were satisfied the Canadian government was living up to commitments and will proceed with construction on the plant.
“We’re full speed ahead now both recruiting additional companies and going to step up our activities in workshops and things like that for companies who are already here and interested in exploring supply chain opportunities,” said Stephen Mackenzie, president and CEO of Invest WindsorEssex.
He said despite the uncertainty around the plant for the last two months no company walked away from discussions.
“We have advanced negotiations with about 11 companies at this point, and the value of that investment is probably around $1 billion, and the number of jobs involved with those, if we got them all, would be another 1,000 manufacturing jobs,” said Mackenzie.
He said with the plant in St. Thomas moving ahead and several battery plants just across the border, Windsor is well-positioned for many supply chain companies.