Manufacturing is a pillar of our local economy. It’s one of our largest employment sectors with more than 200 businesses providing 8,000 jobs, and it supports local jobs and economic activity in many other sectors as well. However, even though we have many renowned and innovative manufacturing businesses right here in our own backyard, as their operations are not necessarily open to the public, people may not know much about what they do each day.
That is one reason why the Manufacturing Industry Tour is so important for our community. It’s a chance for our elected officials, community leaders and members of the public to get treated to a rare opportunity to venture onto the factory floor and have an up-close look at what these businesses do and how they operate.
On Oct. 3, the Abbotsford Chamber of Commerce and the City of Abbotsford held their second annual Manufacturing Industry Tour, with Mayor Siemens and Councillor Barkman among this year’s attendees. The sold-out event saw BE Power Equipment, Clearbrook Iron Works and Midway Wheelabrating, Longboard Architectural Products, and Tiger Tool open their doors and provide tour attendees with an opportunity to see their work. BE Power Equipment also hosted a lunch inside their facility.
Each of the businesses featured in the tour is an innovator and a leader in their field, and they are all local, family-owned second or third-generation operations. BE Power Equipment is a leading North American industrial power equipment manufacturer, Clearbrook Iron Works is a structural steel fabricator serving our regional construction industry since 1956, Longboard Architectural Products is a premium manufacturer of innovative and sustainable building materials, and Tiger Tool is a leading specialty tool manufacturer with a 40-year history of innovation.
As a City Council it is wonderful to see our manufacturers thriving and hard at work creating products for markets both local and around the world, and we are committed to ensuring Abbotsford is an attractive place for new businesses to start and for existing businesses to stay and grow. Over the past year, we’ve visited a number of manufacturers as part of our Business Spotlight Series to learn about the challenges they face and what we can do to help them succeed. Our advocacy has already resulted in the expansion of Highway 1 through Abbotsford to allow for quicker and more efficient transportation of goods, and we continue to appeal to the BC government to permit us to open up a small but strategic amount of our land to allow for more industrial development.
We’d like to express our thanks to BE Power Equipment, Clearbrook Iron Works and Midway Wheelabrating, Longboard Architectural Products, and Tiger Tool for hosting us this year for the 2025 Abbotsford Manufacturing Industry Tour. We’re also grateful to the Chamber of Commerce for once again partnering with the City on this event. The Chamber is one of our key economic partners and a valued member our Economic Development Table and our Business Innovation and Growth Advisory Committee. Through our ongoing collaboration, we are our continually supporting our local businesses and strengthening our economy.
Abbotsford City Council
