11:15 AM
Meet to Board Tour Bus
11:15 AM • Marriot on the Falls Hotel • Lobby
Depart for BioVeld 1, 3363 Davis Road
11:30 AM • Boxed Lunch Provided on Bus
12:00 PM
Site of BMI Group, BioVeld 1 & 2
12:00 PM • BioVeld 1 & 2
BMI Group, BMI is a real estate, business development, and infrastructure company invested in building better communities. From capital to completion The BMI Group is an end-to-end real estate investment and redevelopment company returning social and economic opportunity to industrial and commercial infrastructure that have run their useful life.
HOST: JAMES VAN DEN BRINK CPA, CMA • Director of Finance, Niagara Group
1:10 PM
Depart for Asahi Kasei Battery Separator Canada
1:10 PM
1:30 PM
Site of Asahi Kasei Battery Separator Canada
1:30 PM • Lithium Ion Battery Separator Facility (Construction Site)
Asahi Kasei Battery Separator Canada Corp. is a subsidiary of The Asahi Kasei Group, a diversified group of companies operating in the material, homes and health care business sectors.
Located in Port Colborne, Ontario, Canada, Asahi Kasei Battery Separator Canada will be home to the company’s first wet-process lithium-ion battery separator manufacturing facility in North America.
The facility will produce wet-process battery separators and is expected to start commercial production sometime in 2027.
HOST: TBA
2:40 PM
Depart for Abatement Technologies Inc.
2:40 PM
3:00 PM
Site of Abatement Technologies Inc.
3:00 PM • Abatement Technologies Inc.
Founded in 1985 by Blair Harber Jr., Abatement Technologies has grown to be one of North America’s leading manufacturers of clean air solutions. Today, our products are used by countless professionals in the construction and restoration industries to maintain air quality in occupied settings.
Although Abatement Technologies got its start in 1985, the Harber family’s roots in manufacturing date back to 1946 when Blair Harber Sr. founded Harber Manufacturing, an aluminum chair and boat manufacturing company.
Now in its third generation of family ownership, Abatement Technologies has a growing team of over 200 Aire Guardians® spread across North America—all committed to making a difference.
Today, Abatement Technologies is owned and operated by Andrew Harber, who is focused on growing the Abatement Technologies name and continuing to provide the customer service and expertise his father built the brand on.
HOST: ANDREW HARBER • CEO, Abatement Technolgies
4:15 PM
Depart for Marriott on the Falls Hotel
4:15 PM
OBJECTIVES OF THIS TECHNICAL TOUR
BMI Group, BioVeld 1 & 2
- Presentation of the company
- Discussion around the financial decision to locate in Thorold, ie. Purchasing a shuttered paper mill, the retrofit, and the redevelopment for new tenants
- Business model of acquiring brownfields for redevelopment
Asahi Kasei Battery Separator Canada
- Presentation of the company
- Discussion around the financial decision to locate in Port Colborne
- The various financial aspects that needed to be reviewed to make the decision, ie. Land Costs, Energy Pricing, Construction costs, Labour Costs
- Convincing an INTL HQ that this was the best site to locate a $1.56 Billion investment.
- Work with / ongoing concerns about trade with the US
Asahi Kasei Battery Separator Canada
- Presentation of the company
- Discussion around the financial decision to stay in Niagara / Canada, expand in this location
- Succession planning within a family business
- Ongoing concerns about trade with the US