One company benefiting from the sustained boom in mining exploration is North Bay Machining Centre Inc.
“We’re swamped,” said company CEO Glenn Thompson. “We’ve been busy now for two years – so busy that we sometimes have to turn down work.”The North Bay company has increased its workforce by one-third and plans to move to a new, 20,000-square foot building early this summer.Founded 10 years ago, North Bay Machining Centre manufactures drilling consumables such as couplings, inner and outer casings and core barrel heads for one major customer and does miscellaneous machining for Hydro One and other companies. Ninety-nine per cent of its work is related to the mining industry, said Thompson.The ISO 9000-2001-certified company has nine CNC lathes, including two new ones that will be shipped directly to its new facility, and four CNC machining centres. It also has an electric furnace for induction hardening. A machinist himself, Thomson operates with a staff of 28, including 22 in the shop. The company operates on two shifts to keep up with the volume of work.
The move to its new building will interrupt operations for at least one week, as machinery is moved, wired and set up for production.
