Ontario Invests In New Disinfectant Wipes Production Facility In Barrie

The Ontario government is supporting a nearly $10 million investment by Empack Spraytech Inc. in a new disinfectant wipe production facility in Barrie, with more than $1.2 million in support through the Ontario Together Fund.

Empack is expanding its capacity through this newly built facility by producing disinfectant wipes under the Zytec Germ Buster brand. This investment will support their new 100,000 square foot facility, of which 25,000 square feet will have the capacity to produce more than 4 million wipes per day in order to meet continued and growing demand for disinfectant wipes since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Empack will manufacture a range of Health Canada approved disinfectant wipes using various active ingredients including citric acid, benzalkonium chloride, and combinations of quaternary ammonium compounds, all of which have been tested to prove efficacy against COVID-19. It is also developing new products using hydrogen peroxide at the new facility to further expand the markets served. The project will also carry out modifications at the project facility as well as purchase and install a fully automated production line.

Supporting projects like Empack Spraytech’s is why Ontario has invested an additional $50 million in the renewed Ontario Together Fund in 2021–22. The fund will continue to support local innovators and businesses to further enhance Ontario’s domestic supply chain capacity, promote Ontario’s MedTech ecosystem and build up our manufacturing sector to ensure the province is well-prepared for future challenges.

“Through the Ontario Together Fund, our government is making important targeted investments in domestic businesses with the ideas and innovative solutions to help us through this pandemic and put us on the road to economic recovery,” said Vic Fedeli, Minister of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade. “With Ontario’s support, Empack Spraytech will be able to expand its production capabilities which will continue to enhance the province’s resilience to future challenges and demands on our healthcare system.”

The renewed Ontario Together Fund is focused on supporting homegrown manufacturing and innovation to combat COVID-19 and providing other goods critical to the health, safety, and security of Ontarians beyond this pandemic.

Empack Spraytech is a privately-owned, family-operated Canadian manufacturer of personal care, OTC drug, automotive, industrial and other household products in aerosol, liquid, gel, wipes and other formats. With strong footprints in North America, Empack is a proud manufacturer of its well-known brands such as Zytec and Emzone. Founded in 1999, the Brampton-based company employs more than 170 people in Brampton and Barrie.

“As a proud member of the communities of Barrie and Brampton and the Province of Ontario, Empack stands ready to support our communities in times of need,” said Ara Nalbandian, Executive Vice President of Empack Spraytech Inc. “The OTF program helped support our efforts in completing our project to meet the current and future needs for disinfectant wipes for the province of Ontario to help in the fight against COVID-19 with reliable, high quality, made in Ontario product.”

“We don’t need to look far for solutions, as the path to our economic recovery is by focusing on and supporting our local innovators right here in Ontario,” said Andrea Khanjin, MPP for Barrie-Innisfil. “We are very fortunate to have Empack Spraytech in our own community of Barrie, manufacturing essential disinfectant wipes that will help our hospitals, schools, and businesses.”

Since its launch in April 2020, the Ontario Together Fund has helped businesses with innovative ideas and solutions to retool or adapt their operations to produce supplies and equipment for the health care sector and frontline workers. Some successful Ontario Together Fund recipients include:

• Toronto-based Kinectrics Inc. will scale up testing resources for surgical masks and N95 respirators and introduce new PPE testing services for surgical gowns and medical drapes.
• Guelph-based Linamar Corp. retooled its assembly line to manufacture ventilator components to produce 10,000 Ontario-made e700 ventilators, in partnership with O-Two Medical Technologies and Bombardier.

Healthy people are essential for a healthy economy. With Ontario’s ambitious rollout of vaccines and booster shot distribution continuing to increase, the government is taking further action to slow the spread of the highly contagious Omicron variant. Ontario’s Action Plan: Protecting People’s Health and Our Economy, provides the resources necessary to finish the battle with COVID-19 and builds on the government’s record investments to protect health and jobs during the global pandemic.

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