Glass firm has opening date in its sights

A new company moving to Barrie expects to be in operation here by mid-November.

Frank Caporiccio, general manager of trade products for PPG Canada and operations manager Ed Fraser, said they began looking for new space a year ago.

"Barrie will make us more competitive," Caporiccio said. "What we're hoping for is better access to our customers.

"Even the town of Barrie itself has so much to offer."

And even though Fraser has been living in Barrie for seven years, it wasn't his intent to move the company here. The intent was simply to look around to see what the market offered.

PPG is a large multi-national company with a flat glass production branch on Caledonia Road in North York. It's been at the same location for 60 years and congestion has become an issue for the manufacturer.

Knowing that the lease would come up in December, the pair started looking at other options.

In the next couple of months, they will be setting up shop in a portion of the former Bemis building on Fairview Road.

In Barrie, about 20 people will be employed fabricating insulated window units to start. The hope is to build the business and the employee base.

The site will also serve as a distribution outlet for the company's glass products.

Caporiccio said Barrie offers better options for shipping, particularly for just-in-time orders with quick turn-around times.

Fourteen people are employed in the Toronto-area shop with another four or five in the office.

The unionized workers will be offered the opportunity to work in the new location, although there have not yet been negotiations with the union.

It's not yet been determined if any jobs will open up for new employees in Barrie.